Europe's First Farmers

Essays by leading specialists on a central issue of European history: the transition to farming.

The transition from hunting and gathering to farming is one of the most important issues in European prehistory. Who were the first farmers, and how was new farming technology introduced? Leading specialists debate these questions, drawing on scholarship in fields as diverse as genetics and Indo-European linguistics.Plants and animals originally domesticated in the Near East arrived in Europe between 7000 and 4000 BC. Was the new technology introduced by migrants, or was it an 'inside job'? How were the new species adapted to European conditions? What were the immediate and long-term consequences of the transition from hunting and gathering to farming? These central questions in the prehistory of Europe are discussed here by leading specialists, drawing on scholarship in fields as diverse as genetics and IndoEuropean linguistics. Detailed studies document the differences between European regions, and fresh generalisations about the origins of European agriculture are also proposed and debated.