Exploring the origins and histories of the first agricultural societies, this book offers a comprehensive and approachable overview of how these populations emerged across various regions globally. It delves into the development of agriculture, its impact on human civilization, and the diverse cultural practices that arose. By examining different geographical contexts, the narrative highlights the interconnectedness of early farming communities and their lasting influence on contemporary societies.
The book offers a comprehensive and authoritative examination of the archaeology of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago, reflecting significant updates since its original 1985 publication. Peter Bellwood, a leading expert, provides a thorough revision that includes the latest findings and insights, making it an essential resource for understanding the region's prehistory.
The first publication to outline the complex global story of human migration
and dispersal throughout the whole of human prehistory. Utilizing
archaeological, linguistic and biological evidence, Peter Bellwood traces the
journeys of the earliest hunter-gatherer and agriculturalist migrants as
critical elements in the evolution of human lifeways.
"Human beings are incredibly diverse, from appearance and language to culture. How do we understand this diversity as a product of evolution and migration over millions of years? In this book, Peter Bellwood brings together biology, archaeology, linguistics, and anthropology to provide a sweeping look at human evolution from 5 million years ago to the rise of agriculture and civilization, presenting modern human diversity as a product of the shared history of human populations around the world. Bellwood opens the book by explaining what allows us to understand and reconstruct the human past, including the importance of archaeological, biological, and cultural approaches as well as an understanding of climate and chronology on vast time scales. From there he proceeds forward in time from the split with chimpanzees c. 6 million years ago, the emergence of Homo 2.5 million years ago, and the appearance of modern humans c. 300,000 years ago. Each chapter is driven by a set of major questions that we have new answers to, such as when did human first leave Africa?, was Homo a new species?, what was the path of migration for early humans and did early humans have discernible social life and material culture? Moving forward in time, Bellwood describes cultural and then linguistic evolution over the last 20,000 years, again driving each chapter with big questions. He concludes the book by asking how much human behavior has changed based on what we know about the past and whether humans are still evolving genetically and culturally. Ultimately, this book shows that to understand human history and ongoing modern human diversity we must first understand human populations as a the result of millions of years of shared genetic and cultural evolution"-- Provided by publisher
