#336 Melinda Zeder: Domestication, And The Origins and Dispersal of Agriculture
RECORDED ON April 9th, 2020.
Dr. Melinda Zeder is Curator Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Her zooarchaeological research has revolutionized the understanding of animal domestication. She has conducted extensive fieldwork throughout the Near East, including in Iran, Israel, Turkey, and Syria. Her research focuses on the origins of plant and animal domestication, and the impacts of agriculture on human prehistory. She has also pioneered approaches that combine archaeological and genetic analyses of plant and animal remains from archaeological sites.
In this episode, we talk about zooarachaeology. We discuss topics such as domestication; if domestication of agriculture came first, and if the question even makes sense; the origins of agriculture, and the several different sites throughout the globe where it developed independently; the concept of niche construction, and how it applies to humans; and the Anthropocene.
Time Links:
What is zooarchaeology?
Domestication
What came first: agriculture or domestication?
The origins of agriculture, and places where agriculture developed independently
Human niche construction, cultural evolution, and agriculture
Agriculture in Europe
When did the Anthropocene begin?
Follow Dr. Zeder’s work!
Follow Dr. Zeder’s work:
Faculty page: https://s.si.edu/3bF1mu9
Academia.edu profile: https://bit.ly/3aZ3Ouy
ResearchGate profile: http://bit.ly/2SuYqsq
YouTube videos: https://bit.ly/2xhmpDI