Evolution And History

Suggested Readings 251

Questions for Reflection

1. The changed lifeways of the Neolithic included the do-
   mestication of plants and animals as well as settlement into
   villages. How did these cultural transformations solve the
   challenges of existence while at the same time create new
   problems? Did the Neolithic set into motion problems that
   are still with us today?


2. Why do you think some people of the past did not make
   the change from food foragers to food producers? What
   problems existing in today’s world have their origins in the
   lifeways of the Neolithic?


3. Though human biology and culture are always inter-
   acting, the rates of biological change and cultural change

uncoupled at some point in the history of our development.

Think of examples of how the differences in these rates

had consequences for humans in the Neolithic and in the

present.

4. Why are the changes of the Neolithic sometimes
   mistakenly associated with progress? Why have the social
   forms that originated in the Neolithic come to dominate
   the earth?


5. Although the archaeological record indicates some dif-
   ferences in the timing of domestication of plants and animals
   in different parts of the world, why is it incorrect to say that
   one region was more advanced than another?

Suggested Readings

Childe, V. G. (1951). Man makes himself. New York: New
American Library.

In this classic, originally published in 1936, Childe presented
his concept of the Neolithic revolution. He places special em-
phasis on the technological inventions that helped transform
humans from food gatherers to food producers.

Coe, S. D. (1994). America’s first cuisines. Austin: University
of Texas Press.

Writing in an accessible style, Coe discusses some of the
more important crops grown by Native Americans and ex-
plores their early history and domestication. Following this
she describes how these foods were prepared, served, and
preserved by the Aztec, Maya, and Inca.

Diamond, J. (1997). Guns, germs, and steel. New York: Norton.

This Pulitzer Prize–winning bestseller addresses the ques-
tion of the distribution of wealth and power in the world
today. For Diamond, this answer requires an understanding

of events associated with the origin and spread of food pro-

duction. Although Diamond falls into various ethnocentric

traps, he provides a great deal of solid information on the

domestication and spread of crops and the biological conse-

quences for humans.

Mann, C. C. (2005). 1491: New revelations of the Americas

before Columbus. New York: Knopf.

Mann dispels the myth of the Americas as an uninhabited

wasteland before the arrival of Columbus and the European

colonizers who followed him. He shows not only the richness

of various Native American cultures but also the devastating

effects of colonization.

Rindos, D. (1984). The origins of agriculture: An evolutionary

perspective. Orlando: Academic.

This is one of the most important books on agricultural origins.

After identifying the weaknesses of existing theories, Rindos

presents his own evolutionary theory of agricultural origins.