ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the origins of agriculture in Africa, New Guinea, the Andes, and East Asia. It briefly examines four additional case studies in the origins of agriculture: in Africa, in New Guinea, in the Andes, and in the early agricultural societies of China. The development of agriculture in Africa involved the indigenous domestication of plants and possibly animals, as well as the adoption of domesticated plants and animals from the Middle East. During the period of increased rainfall in the Sahara, small villages of hunter-gatherers developed across northern Africa. In much of North Africa, domesticated animals were introduced before domesticated plants. The spread of pastoralism into East Africa is associated with the development of elaborate burial practices. During glacial periods, New Guinea, Australia, and Tasmania formed a single landmass known as Sahul.
