Includes bibliographical references, p. 292-349 and index.

The early farming dispersal hypothesis in perspective -- The origins and dispersals of agriculture : some operational considerations -- The beginnings of agriculture in Southwest Asia -- Tracking the spreads of farming beyond the Fertile Crescent : Europe and Asia -- Africa : an independent focus of agricultural development? -- The beginnings of agriculture in East Asia -- The spread of agriculture into Southeast Asia and Oceania -- Early agriculture and its spread in the Americas -- What do language families mean for human prehistory? -- The spread of farming : comparing the archaeology and the linguistics -- Genetics, skeletal anthropology, and the people factor -- The nature of early agricultural expansion.