Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

8.1 Summarize the changes that characterize the Epipaleolithic, Mesolithic, and Archaic periods and explain how these periods can be seen as laying the foundation for domestication.
8.2 Explain what transformations in human subsistence and culture are implied by the term Neolithic.
8.3 Compare and contrast theories of agricultural origins.
8.4 Review domestication in various world areas, and discuss how these transformations were different.
8.5 List the major consequences of domestication for prehistoric peoples.