Assessment Questions 8.13

Europe's prehistory regarding the shift to agriculture is complex, with several agricultural revolutions occurring in southeast Europe, central Europe, along the northern Mediterranean coast, in the Alps, along the Atlantic coast, and in eastern and northeastern Europe. Archaeologist Robin Dennell notes that these revolutions, while not entirely independent, happened at different times, involved different crops and animals, and had varying degrees of success.

The Neolithic of Europe was significantly influenced by southwest Asian domesticates, including crops like einkorn, barley, bean, vetch, and lentils, which are of Near Eastern origin. These crops appeared in their domesticated form in European archaeological sites dating to after 8000 B.P. People from the Middle East physically moved into Europe, and genomic analysis traced the first farmers of northern and western Europe back to early farmers in Turkey and Greece. DNA analysis from Europe's first agriculturalists shows they were immigrants from the south and east.

Domesticated cattle became crucial in the European Neolithic, but unlike some regions, Europe did not independently domesticate the cattle. Genetic analysis of living animals and data from the bones of an extinct wild European cattle species suggest that domestic cattle were brought into Europe primarily from the Middle East, not domesticated locally. Archaeological evidence indicates that dairying, including the production of milk, became an important part of the subsistence equation in Europe as early as 7,500 years ago.