David R. Harris. Origins of agriculture in western Central Asia.

Tengberg, Margareta

DAVID R. HARRIS. Origins of agriculture in western Central Asia. 304 pages, 86 colour and b&w illustrations, 30 tables. 2010. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology; 978-1-934536-16-2 paperback $65 & 42.50 [pounds sterling].

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While the domestication of plants and animals in south-west Asia and the subsequent spread of agricultural economies to the Mediterranean and Continental Europe have been the focus of the scientific community for several decades, patterns of diffusion towards the east have remained more elusive. Except for a small number of sites on the eastern fringe of the Fertile Crescent, in the Zagros Mountains, and on the plains of south-western Iran, frustratingly little is known about when, how and why agricultural economies first appeared on the Iranian plateau and in south-west Central Asia. Harris's book constitutes a major contribution to this question, taking in a vast region stretching from the Caspian Sea to the piedmonts of the Hindu Kush, and the steppes of southern Kazakhstan to the edge of the Iranian plateau.

The core of the book, divided into five parts and 12 chapters, consists of the detailed presentation of results obtained from surveys and excavations conducted by British archaeologists, in collaboration with Russian and Turkmen colleagues, in southern Turkmenistan from 1989 to 1998. Some of the results have been previously published but this is the first time that all the results are gathered into a single volume. Moreover, they are set in a wide perspective extending the theme of the origins of agriculture to adjacent regions. While 14 scholars, all renowned specialists in their domains, have contributed to the book, the general framework, as well as the important introduction and conclusion are the work of Harris. The participation of several authors induces a degree of heterogeneity into the volume, though this is compensated by the overriding question of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition and its implications for human societies and their environment.

The first part of the book (Parts I-III, Chapters 1-7) sets the scene for the fieldwork described in detail in Part IV. An introductory chapter on the current environment gives an overview of the geography, climate and biodiversity of western Central Asia, illustrated by clear maps and black-and-white and colour photographs. The environmental changes which have occurred during the Pleistocene and Holocene are reconstructed mainly through the palaeohydrology of the Caspian and Aral Seas and of palaeosols. This chapter is clearly written and very useful for understanding the wider environmental and climatic context of late Palaeolithic and early Neolithic settlement. The two following chapters (3 & 4), elaborated by Harris Together with Limbrey and Heathcote respectively, concern the local environments of the study sites in southern and western Turkmenistan. In particular the description of the topography, soils and sediments allows the reader to situate the sites in the landscape and to understand some of the reasons for their location.

After setting the environmental context, Part II, co-authored with Coolidge, is dedicated to the history of archaeological research in Central Asia (Chapter 5) and a summary of current knowledge of Mesolithic and Neolithic cultures (Chapter 6). The task is not easy, especially considering the large time span (Palaeolithic to Early Chalcolithic) and the vast geographical area (including adjacent regions of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran) under consideration. Moreover, most of the early literature is written in Russian and difficult to access, with few publications summarising the large amount of data obtained during the intensive period of Soviet research before and after the Second World War. Despite these difficulties, the chapter constitutes a welcome introduction to the topic, most useful for the non-specialist, in order to grasp the main stages of archaeological research and its results. Nevertheless, the specialist of Central Asian prehistory will notice parts of the story are missing. For example, the history of research mainly discusses fieldwork carried out by Russian, American, British and Italian teams, largely ignoring that undertaken by French missions in Central Asia since the early 1980s (and since the 1920s if Afghanistan is included). In the same manner the archaeology of adjacent regions (Uzbekistan, Afghanistan) is only partially treated using a small selection of references.

The presentation of Palaeolithic sites and sequences in Chapter 6 is deliberately limited, as the text focuses on the following Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, bur important issues concerning this period in Central Asia seem to have been missed and could at least have been mentioned (e.g. Neanderthal/Sapiens, Levallois techniques, the appearance of blade production).

The largest part of the book (Chapters 8-10) deals with the British multidisciplinary work in Turkmenistan with a focus on the excavation of the Neolithic settlement of Jeitun, the earliest known agricultural village in Central Asia, dated to around 6000 BC. The site is situated at the interface between the Kopetdag piedmont zone and the Karakum Desert in the southern part of the country. Prior to the British investigations (1989-1994), Russian archaeologists, in particular V.M. Masson, had conducted several seasons of excavation at Jeitun in the 1950s and early 1960s. During the time-period separating these two phases of excavations, field and laboratory techniques as well as research objectives evolved, motivating the adoption of a quite different field strategy. Thus, while the earlier work prioritised the exposure of large areas of the settlement, the later investigations aimed at more detailed understanding of the chronology, economy and environment of the Neolithic community. This was obtained through small-scale, fine-grained excavation, radiocarbon dating by AMS, systematic recovery of plant and animal remains, and the study of geo- and micro-morphological features, both on- and off-site. The results of the various archaeological-environmental approaches, as well as those obtained by the study of architecture and artefacts, are somewhat unevenly developed. For example, the description of the excavated architectural remains (Gosden) and the analysis of charred plant remains (Charles & Bogaard) are detailed, while other sections, such as those dedicated to faunal remains (Dobney & Jacques) or pollen and offsite charcoal (Harris) are more succinct, partly due to the preservation of remains. The study of the knapped stone assemblage (Conolly) is based on a limited number of pieces and would moreover have benefited from more thorough treatment of technological aspects.

Despite the small size of the excavation at Jeitun, and the somewhat disappointing results from the other archaeological sites described (e.g. in the Sumbar and Chandyr valleys), the research efforts summarised in the book contribute substantially to our knowledge of the Neolithic period in western Central Asia, providing a wealth of new and solid data. The integrated application of specialist techniques--some, such as phytolith analysis, representing the first time they have been used in Central Asia--permits a holistic discussion on the environment, economy and lifestyle of an early Neolithic village situated at the ecotone between piedmont and desert. The results are summarised by Harris in the fifth and final part of the volume where Jeitun is placed in its local, regional and supra-regional context. Here, the author draws together the evidence in a rich synthesis where he discusses the essence of the Jeitun Culture and its relation to other contemporary Neolithic horizons.

The concluding chapter comes back to the fundamental question of the origins of agriculture in western Central Asia. Here, the author discusses various scenarios and, even though he concludes that crop cultivation and livestock herding were probably introduced into Central Asia from the eastern Fertile Crescent slightly before 6000 BC, he ultimately leaves the question open and stresses the need to validate his hypothesis with new research.

In a period when western Central Asia and adjacent regions are attracting the renewed attention of a broad international community of archaeologists, Origins of agriculture constitutes a fundamental contribution, presenting novel data, as well as brilliantly setting the scene for future research.

MARGARETA TENGBERG

National Museum of Natural History, Paris, France

(Email: tengberg@mnhn.fr)