Research

As an evolutionary event the transition from foraging to farming is one of the most important social and economic process in human prehistory. Supported by the National Science Foundation Dr. Kuijt and his colleagues will conduct three seasons of archaeological excavation at the early Neolithic village of Dhra', Jordan, to explore the social, economic, and demographic context of this transition. The early agricultural village of Dhra', dating to approximately 11,500 years ago and located next to the Dead Sea, provides an important means of reconstructing the earliest transition from foraging to farming, and developing an understanding of the social context in which food production and agriculture first emerged in the Old World. Archaeological excavations will be conducted in a series of broad continuous five by five meter excavation units documenting the internal organization of one of our earliest Neolithic villages. This will provide researchers with an understanding of the spatial organization of village life, including the location where food preparation occurred, how residential areas were organized, the location and nature of food storage systems, and where ritual and mortuary activities occurred. In exploring these important evolutionary and anthropological issues, Dr. Kuijt and his collaborators will use archaeological data to address three interrelated questions: 1) How was the development of new systems of food production linked to paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes? 2) How might the development of new forms of food production be linked to later population growth and pressure? and, 3) What was the social context early village life, and how did this change with the development of early food production? Guided by these questions, this research provides new insights into the social process and impact of the process of plant and animal domestication on small-scale foraging/farming communities, including the emergence of social inequality, the development of ritual and civic elites, and the development of food surpluses. Bringing together specialists to conduct investigations into the social, demographic, and environmental context of food production at Dhra', this research contributes towards our understanding of the evolutionary transition from foraging to farming on three levels. First, it will help researchers to gain insight into how this transition impacted life at the scale of local village life. Second, this study will help archaeologists to understand how village social and economic changes are linked to regional and intra-regional changes. Finally, at the global scale this research will help anthropologists and archaeologists to better understand the evolutionary trajectory, and nature of, the transition from foraging to farming.





		Project Goals \| Publications \| NSF Proposal Project Results and Diagrams 1994 \| 2001\| 2002 \| 2003 \| 2004 \| 2005 Project Goals As an evolutionary event the transition from foraging to farming is one of the most important social and economic process in human prehistory. Supported by the National Science Foundation Dr. Kuijt and his colleagues will conduct three seasons of archaeological excavation at the early Neolithic village of Dhra', Jordan, to explore the social, economic, and demographic context of this transition. The early agricultural village of Dhra', dating to approximately 11,500 years ago and located next to the Dead Sea, provides an important means of reconstructing the earliest transition from foraging to farming, and developing an understanding of the social context in which food production and agriculture first emerged in the Old World. Archaeological excavations will be conducted in a series of broad continuous five by five meter excavation units documenting the internal organization of one of our earliest Neolithic villages. This will provide researchers with an understanding of the spatial organization of village life, including the location where food preparation occurred, how residential areas were organized, the location and nature of food storage systems, and where ritual and mortuary activities occurred. In exploring these important evolutionary and anthropological issues, Dr. Kuijt and his collaborators will use archaeological data to address three interrelated questions: 1) How was the development of new systems of food production linked to paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes? 2) How might the development of new forms of food production be linked to later population growth and pressure? and, 3) What was the social context early village life, and how did this change with the development of early food production? Guided by these questions, this research provides new insights into the social process and impact of the process of plant and animal domestication on small-scale foraging/farming communities, including the emergence of social inequality, the development of ritual and civic elites, and the development of food surpluses. Bringing together specialists to conduct investigations into the social, demographic, and environmental context of food production at Dhra', this research contributes towards our understanding of the evolutionary transition from foraging to farming on three levels. First, it will help researchers to gain insight into how this transition impacted life at the scale of local village life. Second, this study will help archaeologists to understand how village social and economic changes are linked to regional and intra-regional changes. Finally, at the global scale this research will help anthropologists and archaeologists to better understand the evolutionary trajectory, and nature of, the transition from foraging to farming.