Topic for Spring 2017: The Neolithic Revolution
Neolithization, the shift from hunting and gathering or foraging to agriculture and animal husbandry, which began ca. 10,000 years ago, was the last major change in humankind’s subsistence economy. The shift had significant ramifications in all areas of culture (economic, social, political, religious, and linguistic). It also was caused by and led to great changes in the environment, and perhaps even in our DNA. The seminar will investigate these changes and the different mechanisms and models of Neolithization in different parts of the world.