ABSTRACT
This first of three chapters briefly introduces the important features of the land-forms, climate, and resources of southwest Asia. In particular, we need to define ‘the hilly flanks of the Fertile Crescent’, the arc of land that formed the focus for the Epipalaeolithic–Neolithic transformation. The climate of the region is generally hot in summer, with variable amounts of rain or snow in winter, and that defines where there are deserts, semi-arid, and moderately watered areas. The landform and rainfall patterns explain why the hilly flanks zone supported an exceptionally varied range of animals and plants that made it attractive for hunter-gatherers and ideal for the beginnings of cultivation and animal management that would lead to farming. Within the hilly flanks zone, and particularly within the Levant, human populations can be shown to have increased exponentially across the Upper Palaeolithic, Epipalaeolithic, and Neolithic periods (24,000 – 8000 BP).
