ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents an outsider's view of the circumstances which led to the beginning and early spread of farming. Farming began with the cultivation of large-seeded grasses and legumes, taking annual plants and propagating them in niches to which they would not normally have access either because of competition from perennials, or because of seasonal flooding which would destroy the seeds. The genesis of farming involved a dual origin and a dialectic between farmers and foragers, so did its subsequent, spread. The book attempts to apply models of the structural relationships between sites and regions which have normally been used only in the context of more advanced economies, but can here be seen to illuminate not only Neolithic supersites such as Ain Ghazal but also their forager precursors such as early ayn or Gbekli Tepe.
