The First Farmers of Europe

An Evolutionary Perspective

Stephen Shennan (University College London)

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English

Cambridge University Press
21 June 2018

History; Population & demography; Anthropology; Life sciences: general issues

Series: Cambridge World Archaeology

Knowledge of the origin and spread of farming has been revolutionised in recent years by the application of new scientific techniques, especially the analysis of ancient DNA from human genomes. In this book, Stephen Shennan presents the latest research on the spread of farming by archaeologists, geneticists and other archaeological scientists. He shows that it resulted from a population expansion from present-day Turkey. Using ideas from the disciplines of human behavioural ecology and cultural evolution, he explains how this process took place. The expansion was not the result of 'population pressure' but of the opportunities for increased fertility by colonising new regions that farming offered. The knowledge and resources for the farming 'niche' were passed on from parents to their children. However, Shennan demonstrates that the demographic patterns associated with the spread of farming resulted in population booms and busts, not continuous expansion.

By: Stephen Shennan (University College London)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 254mm, Width: 177mm, Spine: 11mm
Weight: 560g
ISBN: 9781108435215
ISBN 10: 1108435211
Series: Cambridge World Archaeology
Pages: 266
Publication Date: 21 June 2018
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

1. Introduction: population, resources and life histories; 2. The origins of agriculture in Southwest Asia; 3. The first westward expansion of farming; 4. The spread of farming into Central Europe; 5. Maritime expansion in the Central and West Mediterranean; 6. Continental temperate Europe 7000–5500 BP: internal expansion and adaptation; 7. First farmers in southern Scandinavia; 8. The farming colonisation of Britain and Ireland; 9. Conclusion: evolutionary patterns and processes.

Stephen Shennan is Professor of Theoretical Archaeology at the University College London Institute of Archaeology, where he was Director 2005-2014. His main interest is explaining stability and change in prehistory in the light of evolutionary ideas. He has published over 120 papers and books, including Quantifying Archaeology (2nd edition, 1997), Genes, Memes and Human History (2002), and Pattern and Process in Cultural Evolution (edited, 2009). He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a member of the Academia Europaea. He received the Rivers Medal of the Royal Anthropological Institute in 2010 and a Shanghai Archaeological Forum Research Award for his EUROEVOL project in 2015.

Reviews for The First Farmers of Europe: An Evolutionary Perspective

'Shennan's book is likely to become an important text for scholars concerned with the archeology of Europe and the Neolithic generally, as well as a wider readership interested in a key transition in human history. A grand narrative indeed.' Evolutionary Anthropology 'Adding to his major body of work on cultural evolution, quantitative archaeology, and Neolithic Europe, Stephen Shennan offers a concise yet richly detailed overview of the emergence and spread of agriculture across Europe using a multifaceted perspective informed by diverse archaeological approaches.' Selin E. Nugent, Cliodynamics: The Journal of Quantitative History and Cultural Evolution 'Overall, this book offers a remarkable wealth of updated information which is well-articulated in a coherent explanation that will surely stimulate new research about the Neolithic in Europe and the Near East.' Juan José Ibáñez, European Journal of Archaeology