| Abstract: |
A brief review of the conference from T P O'Connor appears first (reprinted from Circaea, 5, 1988). The twelve papers are presented in four sections. In I, Theoretical approaches to the beginning, spread, and organization of agriculture, there are three contributions: Royston Clark (pp 3-22) in 'Towards the integration of social and ecological approaches to the study of early agriculture' examines hunter-gatherer subsistence and social organization, and uses Italian data on Meso/early Neo subsistence in the light of theories of risk management. Paul Halstead's contribution is on the spread of farming in SE and Central Europe, while K D Thomas's deals with hierarchical approaches to the evolution of complex agricultural systems in NW Pakistan. A paper on Domestication (section II) comes from Caroline Grigson, using Near Eastern data on cattle. Section III deals with The earliest agriculture in Continental Europe: theory, methodology, and agricultural practice, starting with Kevin J Edwards (113-35) examining 'The cereal pollen record and early agriculture': he discusses problems of identifying cereal pollens in the context of the earliest phases of apparent cereal cultivation, and advocates caution, with particular reference to pollen of cereal types in pre-elm decline contexts in NW Europe (with 22 possible sites in Britain and Ireland). A paper on south central Europe follows from H Küster, and some Swiss evidence is reported by David Robinson & Peter Rasmussen (149-63) in 'Botanical investigations at the Neolithic lake village at Weier, NE Switzerland: leaf hay and cereals as animal fodder'; their work included study of the faeces of modern animals experimentally fed with leaf hay and wheat grains, providing confirmation of the use at Weier of these materials for overwintering stock. F M Chambers (165-75) reports on 'The evidence for early rye cultivation in NW Europe', quoting the British evidence for Secale pollen grains and seeds from the 2nd and 1st millennia bc, but noting a doubt whether they represent weed or crop. Section IV treats The adoption of agriculture in the British Isles: theory and evidence. Barbara Noddle (179-202) contributes 'Cattle and sheep in Britain and northern Europe up to the Atlantic period: a personal viewpoint': new evidence on aurochs (Bos primigenius) does not bear out theories of size reduction during the Holocene. Another cherished theory is challenged by Roy Entwistle & Annie Grant (203-15) in 'The evidence for cereal cultivation and animal husbandry in the southern British Neolithic and Bronze Age': they argue that only in the later prehistoric period did cereal cultivation play an important role in the economy, and they also suggest that the evidence for dairying is not persuasive. A J Legge takes up the challenge (217-42) in 'Milking the evidence: a reply to Entwistle and Grant' and details his reasons for believing that cereal agriculture was important, and indeed necessary to support the large ceremonial Neo works. As for dairying, this deduction best fits the evidence. Entwistle & Grant's position is supported by L Moffett, M A Robinson, & V Straker (243-61) in 'Cereals, fruit and nuts: charred plant remains from Neolithic sites in England and Wales and the Neolithic economy': data from 26 sites is reviewed and the conclusion drawn that cereal evidence is scanty and that collected plants were much used in the diet until well into the Bronze Age. 'Concluding remarks' are provided by W Groenman-van Waateringe (265-7) who also mentions papers given at the conference but not published here. |
