TO BE A MAIZE FARMER, OR NOT TO BE A MAIZE FARMER

JOHNSON, A.; GIL, A.; NEME, G.

AUSTIN (USA)

Congreso; 72 ANNUAL MEETING SOCIETY OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY; 2007

SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY

Evolution is indicated by change in characteristics of a population over time.  Here our interest is not biological, but what is often called cultural evolution. Globally, cultural evolution seems largely to be a function of density-dependent changes in human adaptive strategies. The pattern of cultural evolution is one of a shift in subsistence strategies resulting in changes in technology, settlement patterns and social organization over time.  Possible trajectories of change depend both upon the initial conditions of the system and on the local environmental context. Given that hunter-gatherer adaptations are the initial conditions for agricultural adaptations, it is necessary to use what we’ve learned about hunter-gatherer variation in order to discuss process of transition to agriculture.