Description
Short stories about the deep past and those who lived through millennia of exploration, hardship, and uncertainty during the evolution of farming.
Winner of the 2019 Nautilus Book Award, Multicultural and Indigenous
"Swigart is to be congratulated for giving us a series of connected short stories that are both entertaining and educational. The book is accurately grounded in archaeological facts, and its individual stories are thoroughly believable. Its particular format should be emulated by all those wishing to blend fact and fiction, not just as entertainment but as education, too."--Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies
In unforgettable stories of the human journey, a combination of compelling storytelling and well-researched archaeology underscore an excavation into the deep past of human development and its consequences. Through a first encounter between a Neanderthal woman and the Modern Human to the emergence and destruction of the world's first cities, Mixed Harvest tells the tale of the Neolithic Revolution, also called the (First) Agricultural Revolution, the most significant event since modern humans emerged. Rob Swigart's latest work humanizes the rapid transition to agriculture and pastoralism with a grounding in the archaeological record.
From the introduction:
In the space of a few thousand years agriculture dominated the earth. We live with it all around us. History began, cities soared, the landscape was crisscrossed with roads.... Each story is prefaced by a short introduction and followed by some context in order to stitch the narrative together. Some stories are linked, but most are independent. The stories are gathered into three chapters: "Shelter," "House," and "Home." These represent a progression in where we lived, a series of transformations in technology and consciousness.
Author: Rob Swigart
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Published: 12/03/2019
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.71lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.50d
ISBN13: 9781789206203
ISBN10: 1789206200
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Archaeology
- History | General
- Technology & Engineering | Agriculture | General
About the Author
Rob Swigart, PhD (Comparative Literature) taught for 35 years at a university, published eleven novels and poetry in The Atlantic, Poetry, and other journals, and co-authored a business book while working as a research affiliate with the Institute for the Future.