Video 1: Ancient DNA and Human Evolution

Description: A joint venture between University of California, San Diego and Max Planck Institute provide insight into the use of genetic data to understand the Neolithic Revolution. The movements of people and sedentism are considered in adding this understanding of genetic change and genetic continuity. Begin at 1:44.

Video 2: The Iceman Reborn

Description: One of the best preserved bodies ever found in the borderlands between Austria and Italy in a glacier, Otzi was well preserved.

Video 3: The Natufian Culture and the Origins of Agriculture

Description: Dr. John Hawks from the University of Wisconsin describes the environment and people in the Lavant region. He describes how the diversification of hunting and gathering practices on a massive scale provided an environment that reinforced the early origins of agriculture. The video also highlights how sedentism creates sociocultural and political complexity as people learn to negotiate hierarchies and space.

Video 4: Chauvet Cave

Description: This video clip highlights the cave art of the Upper Paleolithic in France. The art shows a level of complexity of art and most of the drawings are animals. The video also provides the reasoning for shuttering this cave and others to the public while the French government builds a replica.

Web 1: Why Are Adult Daughters Missing From Ancient German Cemeteries?

Description: This article from Science highlights a recently excavated cemetery in Germany that highlights gender and social inequality during Neolith. Evidence from teeth, DNA, artifacts, and grave goods were used to examine relationships and inheritance patterns in several generations. One of the major findings from this study was that adult daughters were not interned in these cemeteries.

Web 2: Analysis of a Neolithic Site Indicates the Use of Community Centers

Description: This article describes a Neolithic site analysis in Jordan that includes an amphitheater-like building, which could indicate that the early farmers engaged in communal activities and set up individual households a little later in the Neolith.