Without agricultural production, civilisation as we know it today could never have come into existence. Nor could any of the great civilisations of history. This course will examine the role of agricultural subsistence at a crucial stage in human history, when post-hunter-gatherer populations in various regions began to lay the foundations of the present distributions of peoples, cultures and languages across the tropical and temperate latitudes of the earth. The course will examine both archaeological and linguistic data.

Two 2,000 word essays and in-class test.

Normally offered in alternate years
2 hours of lectures and one hour of tutorial per week

One first-year courses to the value of 6 units in Archaeology (ARCH or PREH) or permission of the lecturer.

PREH2039 Origins and Dispersals of Agricultural Populations.

Bellwood, P. First Farmers, Blackwell, 2005.