The Tangled Roots of Agriculture.

The article discusses Natufians and their activities when the climate became warmer about 14,500 years ago. Archaeologist Philip Edwards and zooarchaeologist Natalie Munro are cited regarding Natufians and human settlement history that preceded farming and the Neolithic epoch. The possible role of a subsequent 1,300-year cold period called the Younger Dryas in changing Natufian hunter-gatherer habits to those of agriculture is discussed. A fall 2009 meeting of archaeologists raised challenges to the notion that Natufians or climate change were driving forces for agriculture. Archaeologist Lisa Maher and geoarchaeologist Arlene Rosen are cited in this regard.