Different mechanisms shaped the transition to farming in Europe and the North American Woodland

The introduction and emergence of agriculture into Eastern North America (ENA) and Europe proceeded very differently in both subcontinents: it varied in timing, speed, and mechanism. Common to both regions, agricultural subsistence profited from the introduction of major staple crops which had been domesticated elsewhere; in both regions, the temperate climate and originally predominant forest vegetation provided an environmental context conducive to agriculture. To understand the different paths to agricultural subsistence, an integrated view of technological innovation, domestication and exchange of domesticates, migration and trade is required within the constraints imposed by the environmental context and geography. This study makes use of a numerical model of regional socio-technological evolution which builds on adaptation of important characteristics of prehistoric societies such as technology and subsistence diversity. With this Global Land Use and Technological Evolution Simulator (GLUES), regional transitions from foraging to agropastoralism, and associated land use and demographic changes are realistically hindcasted. I show that the model is capable of explaining the different timing, speed, and transition mechanisms: Europe received a large package of foreign domesticates and converted rapidly to agriculture, this fast transition can be best explained with demic and cultural diffusion followed by fast adoption by resident foragers. In contrast, ENA trajectories show a more gradual transition. Hunting-gathering and agropastoral life style coexisted for a long time and agriculture was adopted slowly into the existing subsistence scheme.Comment: Submitted to Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia, 9 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

The Diffusion of Humans and Cultures in the Course of the Spread of Farming

The most profound change in the relationship between humans and their environment was the introduction of agriculture and pastoralism. [....] For an understanding of the expansion process, it appears appropriate to apply a diffusive model. Broadly, these numerical modeling approaches can be catego- rized in correlative, continuous and discrete. Common to all approaches is the comparison to collections of radiocarbon data that show the apparent wave of advance of the transition to farming. However, these data sets differ in entry density and data quality. Often they disregard local and regional specifics and research gaps, or dating uncertainties. Thus, most of these data bases may only be used on a very general, broad scale. One of the pitfalls of using irregularly spaced or irregularly documented radiocarbon data becomes evident from the map generated by Fort (this volume, Chapter 16): while the general east-west and south-north trends become evident, some areas appear as having undergone anomalously early transitions to farming. This may be due to faulty entries into the data base or regional problems with radiocarbon dating, if not unnoticed or undocumented laboratory mistakes.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Diffusive Spreading in Nature, Technology and Society, edited by Armin Bunde, J\"urgen Caro, J\"org K\"arger, Gero Vogl, Chapter 1