ANTHR 7267 - [Origins of Agriculture]

(crosslisted) ARKEO 7267

Fall. Not offered: 2022-2023. Next offered: 2024-2025. 4 credits. Student option grading.

Co-meets with ANTHR 4267/ARKEO 4267.

N. Russell.

The shift from foraging to food production is perhaps the most profound transformation in the history of the human species. The consequences have been far-reaching, and underpin nearly all present-day societies. This course will examine the origins of plant and animal domestication and the positive and negative consequences of this innovation in several areas of the world. While we will consider the evidence for domestication, the focus will be on a critical analysis of the models offered to explain the origins of agriculture. A comparative perspective will help us to evaluate whether there is a single universal explanation for agricultural origins. Food production has been an expansionary system, and we will explore the reasons for its spread over most of the world.