ANT 2000 Chapter 11: Chapter 11 notes: The first Farmers
Document Summary
The broad-spectrum revolution in europe includes, the late paleolithic and the mesolithic, which followed it. Mesolithic: stone toolmaking-emphasizing microliths within broad-spectrum economies. Broad-spectrum revolution: foraging of varied plant and animal foods at end of ice age; prelude to neolithic. The mesolithic had a characteristic tool type- the microlithic. By 10,000 b. p. the glaciers had retreated to such an extent that foragers now lived in the formerly glaciated british isles and scandinavia. People still hunted, but their prey were solitary forest animals, such as the roe deer, wild ox, and wild pig, rather than herd species. The coasts and lakes of europe, the middle east and japan were fished intensively. The process of preserving meat and fish by smoking and salting grew increasingly important. Meat preservation had been less of an issue when the climate was colder, because winter snow and ice, often on the ground nine months of the year, offered convenient refrigeration.
