First Migrants Ancient Migration in Global Perspective [Hardcover]

The first publication to outline the complex global story of human migration and dispersal throughout the whole of human prehistory. Utilizing archaeological, linguistic and biological evidence, Peter Bellwood traces the journeys of the earliest hunter-gatherer and agriculturalist migrants as critical elements in the evolution of human lifeways.

• The first volume to chart global human migration and population dispersal throughout the whole of human prehistory, in all regions of the world
• An archaeological odyssey that details the initial spread of early humans out of Africa approximately two million years ago, through the Ice Ages, and down to the continental and island migrations of agricultural populations within the past 10,000 years
• Employs archaeological, linguistic and biological evidence to demonstrate how migration has always been a vital and complex element in explaining the evolution of the human species
• Outlines how significant migrations have affected population diversity in every region of the world
• Clarifies the importance of the development of agriculture as a migratory imperative in later prehistory
• Fully referenced with detailed maps throughout

List of Figures ix

Preface xiv

A Note on Dating Terminology xvi

Acknowledgements xvii

1 The Relevance and Reality of Ancient Migration 1

Migration in Prehistoric Times 4

Hypothesizing About Prehistoric Migrations 6

Migrations in History and Ethnography 8

The Helvetii 8

Ancient China 9

Medieval Iceland 10

The Nuer of Sudan 10

The Iban of Sarawak 12

Relevance for Prehistoric MiglƒG