Introduction to Prehistory

Write a “day in the life” account set in an early agricultural community of your choice (either one of the sites presented in the textbook or a community you invent based on your sources), using archaeological information from your sources to reconstruct daily life. You might structure this as a diary entry composed by a resident of your community. Consider at least two of the following: (1) What led the people of your community to take up farming as a way of life? (2) How does farming change social and political life in a human community? (3) Did early farmers see agriculture as a “better” way of life than hunting and gathering – and is it “better?” (4) How does farming change religious and other ideas within a culture?

Sources
At least three sources other than your textbook and lecture notes, two of which should be non-Internet sources. In addition to books available at the main library, you may wish to check for relevant articles in some of the following journals: American Antiquity, Journal of Archaeological Science, World Archaeology. General audience magazines like Scientific American, National Geographic, Discover, and Archaeology also publish articles that are relevant, accurate and accessible.