Foragers to Farmers: Hunting and Gathering and the Development of Agriculture
ANTH 250
Spring 2016 not offered
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| Crosslisting:
ARCP 250 |
| Certificates: Environmental Studies |
Almost all humans today derive their sustenance, directly or indirectly, from agriculture, but for more than 90 percent of our existence, people subsisted by hunting, gathering, fishing, and gardening. We tend to think of hunter/gatherers as living like the Dobe of the Kalahari desert in southern Africa, Australian Aborigines, or the Inuit of the Canadian Arctic. Ethnographic accounts of these and other peoples give us some insight into the hunter/gatherer way of life, but they describe populations existing in marginal environments. The foragers of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods of human prehistory inhabited environmentally rich river valleys, lake shores, and coastal areas in temperate and tropical climates. They were characterized by high population densities, productive economies, intense material culture production, and complex regional social interaction. Initially, the course will explore this "lost" period of human existence. The second part of the course will examine the domestication of plants and animals, the environmental and other impacts of the early development of intensive farming, and the beginnings of "civilization." The archaeological methods and theories underlying our understanding of these societies and processes will also be explored. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS ANTH |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (ARCP)(ENVS) |
Major Readings:
Bellwood, FIRST FARMERS: THE ORIGINS OF AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES
Hodder, THE LEOPARD'S TALE: REVEALING THE MYSTERIES OF ÇATALHÖYÜK
Kelly, THE LIFEWAYS OF HUNTER-GATHERERS: THE FORAGING SPECTRUM
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Examinations and Assignments:
Three essays, plus a final essay. |
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