Agricultural origins on the Anatolian plateau

Authors: Baird, D., Jenkins, E., Elliott, S. et al.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Volume: 115

Issue: 14

Pages: E3077-E3086

eISSN: 1091-6490

ISSN: 0027-8424

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1800163115

Abstract:

This paper explores the explanations for, and consequences of, the early appearance of food production outside the Fertile Crescent of Southwest Asia, where it originated in the 10th/9th millennia cal BC. We present evidence that cultivation appeared in Central Anatolia through adoption by indigenous foragers in the mid ninth millennium cal BC, but also demonstrate that uptake was not uniform, and that some communities chose to actively disregard cultivation. Adoption of cultivation was accompanied by experimentation with sheep/goat herding in a system of low-level food production that was integrated into foraging practices rather than used to replace them. Furthermore, rather than being a short-lived transitional state, low-level food production formed part of a subsistence strategy that lasted for several centuries, although its adoption had significant long-term social consequences for the adopting community at Boncuklu. Material continuities suggest that Boncuklu’s community was ancestral to that seen at the much larger settlement of Çatalhöyük East from 7100 cal BC, by which time a modest involvement with food production had been transformed into a major commitment to mixed farming, allowing the sustenance of a very large sedentary community. This evidence from Central Anatolia illustrates that polarized positions explaining the early spread of farming, opposing indigenous adoption to farmer colonization, are unsuited to understanding local sequences of subsistence and related social change. We go beyond identifying the mechanisms for the spread of farming by investigating the shorter- and longer-term implications of rejecting or adopting farming practices.

https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/30337/

Source: Scopus

Agricultural origins on the Anatolian plateau.

Authors: Baird, D., Jenkins, E., Elliott, S. et al.

Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Volume: 115

Issue: 14

Pages: E3077-E3086

eISSN: 1091-6490

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1800163115

Abstract:

This paper explores the explanations for, and consequences of, the early appearance of food production outside the Fertile Crescent of Southwest Asia, where it originated in the 10th/9th millennia cal BC. We present evidence that cultivation appeared in Central Anatolia through adoption by indigenous foragers in the mid ninth millennium cal BC, but also demonstrate that uptake was not uniform, and that some communities chose to actively disregard cultivation. Adoption of cultivation was accompanied by experimentation with sheep/goat herding in a system of low-level food production that was integrated into foraging practices rather than used to replace them. Furthermore, rather than being a short-lived transitional state, low-level food production formed part of a subsistence strategy that lasted for several centuries, although its adoption had significant long-term social consequences for the adopting community at Boncuklu. Material continuities suggest that Boncuklu's community was ancestral to that seen at the much larger settlement of Çatalhöyük East from 7100 cal BC, by which time a modest involvement with food production had been transformed into a major commitment to mixed farming, allowing the sustenance of a very large sedentary community. This evidence from Central Anatolia illustrates that polarized positions explaining the early spread of farming, opposing indigenous adoption to farmer colonization, are unsuited to understanding local sequences of subsistence and related social change. We go beyond identifying the mechanisms for the spread of farming by investigating the shorter- and longer-term implications of rejecting or adopting farming practices.

https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/30337/

Source: PubMed

Agricultural origins on the Anatolian plateau

Authors: Baird, D., Jenkins, E., Elliott, S. et al.

Journal: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Volume: 115

Issue: 14

Pages: E3077-E3086

ISSN: 0027-8424

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1800163115

https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/30337/

Source: Web of Science (Lite)

Agricultural origins on the Anatolian plateau

Authors: Baird, D., Jenkins, E. et al.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)

Publisher: National Academy of Sciences

ISSN: 0027-8424

Abstract:

This paper explores explanations for, and consequences of, the early appearance of food production outside the Fertile Crescent of Southwest Asia, where it had originated in the 10th/9th millennium cal BC. We present evidence that cultivation appeared in Central Anatolia through adoption by indigenous foragers in the mid 9th millennium cal BC, but also demonstrate that uptake was not uniform, and that some communities chose to actively disregard cultivation. Adoption of cultivation seems to have promoted experimentation with the herding of probably local caprines in the Konya Plain. Those sedentary communities that adopted cultivation integrated small-scale food production into forager lifeways, though rather than being a transitional state, this adaptation was successful and stable for several centuries. That innovation had significant social consequences for the adopting community represented by the site of Boncuklu. Continuities with evidence at Çatalhöyük East suggest that those communities in the SW Konya basin that adopted low level food production, including that at Boncuklu, were transformed in the later 8th millennium cal BC into settlements with a major commitment to mixed farming, and grew to considerable size, as exemplified by Çatalhöyük East. The polarized positions for the spread of farming, opposing indigenous adoption to farmer colonization represent simplistic models that are unsuited to understanding local sequences of subsistence change. We go beyond identifying the mechanisms for the spread of farming by investigating the shorter and longer-term implications of rejecting or adopting farming practices.

https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/30337/

Source: Manual

Agricultural origins on the Anatolian plateau.

Authors: Baird, D., Jenkins, E., Elliott, S. et al.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Volume: 115

Issue: 14

Pages: E3077-E3086

eISSN: 1091-6490

ISSN: 0027-8424

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1800163115

Abstract:

This paper explores the explanations for, and consequences of, the early appearance of food production outside the Fertile Crescent of Southwest Asia, where it originated in the 10th/9th millennia cal BC. We present evidence that cultivation appeared in Central Anatolia through adoption by indigenous foragers in the mid ninth millennium cal BC, but also demonstrate that uptake was not uniform, and that some communities chose to actively disregard cultivation. Adoption of cultivation was accompanied by experimentation with sheep/goat herding in a system of low-level food production that was integrated into foraging practices rather than used to replace them. Furthermore, rather than being a short-lived transitional state, low-level food production formed part of a subsistence strategy that lasted for several centuries, although its adoption had significant long-term social consequences for the adopting community at Boncuklu. Material continuities suggest that Boncuklu's community was ancestral to that seen at the much larger settlement of Çatalhöyük East from 7100 cal BC, by which time a modest involvement with food production had been transformed into a major commitment to mixed farming, allowing the sustenance of a very large sedentary community. This evidence from Central Anatolia illustrates that polarized positions explaining the early spread of farming, opposing indigenous adoption to farmer colonization, are unsuited to understanding local sequences of subsistence and related social change. We go beyond identifying the mechanisms for the spread of farming by investigating the shorter- and longer-term implications of rejecting or adopting farming practices.

https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/30337/

Source: Europe PubMed Central

Agricultural origins on the Anatolian plateau

Authors: Baird, D., Jenkins, E.L. et al.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)

Volume: 115

Issue: 14

Pages: E3077-E3086

ISSN: 0027-8424

Abstract:

This paper explores explanations for, and consequences of, the early appearance of food production outside the Fertile Crescent of Southwest Asia, where it had originated in the 10th/9th millennium cal BC. We present evidence that cultivation appeared in Central Anatolia through adoption by indigenous foragers in the mid 9th millennium cal BC, but also demonstrate that uptake was not uniform, and that some communities chose to actively disregard cultivation. Adoption of cultivation seems to have promoted experimentation with the herding of probably local caprines in the Konya Plain. Those sedentary communities that adopted cultivation integrated small-scale food production into forager lifeways, though rather than being a transitional state, this adaptation was successful and stable for several centuries. That innovation had significant social consequences for the adopting community represented by the site of Boncuklu. Continuities with evidence at Çatalhöyük East suggest that those communities in the SW Konya basin that adopted low level food production, including that at Boncuklu, were transformed in the later 8th millennium cal BC into settlements with a major commitment to mixed farming, and grew to considerable size, as exemplified by Çatalhöyük East. The polarized positions for the spread of farming, opposing indigenous adoption to farmer colonization represent simplistic models that are unsuited to understanding local sequences of subsistence change. We go beyond identifying the mechanisms for the spread of farming by investigating the shorter and longer-term implications of rejecting or adopting farming practices.

https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/30337/

Source: BURO EPrints