Re: Did IE languages spread before farming?

Not to be too harsh or toss cold water on your parade


I think this theory of early-AG based demographic expansion into
Europe from the Near East was indirectly inspired by EW Haury by-way-
of the American Southwest.

Because of the nature of early agriculture the theory of an
agricultural inspired demographic expansion into Europe from the Near
East is nave or fanciful. Clearly, this theory has more to do with
European Nationalism and Colonialism and plays better with a modern
European derived audience that it explains past human behavior. For
years, this failed theory was foisted on Southwestern American
Archaeology. In this form, it was early agricultural expansion with a
demographic aspect from Meso-America into the greater southwest.

Haury's basis for this theory was quit simple. He worked in central
Mexico in his youth for a short period and was familiar with the
culture of the historic Aztecs. He knew the Aztecs nobility cremated
their dead and he knew the southwestern Hohokam cremated their dead.
He also noted some elements of Meso-American iconography in Hohokam
art. Thus, he concluded that the Hohokam of the American southwest
were the result of an early agricultural migration from central
Mexico.
For many reasons the problems with Haury's theory were either not
addressed or opposition was blatantly suppressed. One problem was
that the Aztecs were recent arrivals in central Mexico at apoint when
the Hohokam culture was being replaced in the southwest. Another
difficulty was that the prehistoric Hohokam culture, minus the Meso-
American trappings is very similar to the historic southwestern Hokon
culture ( not the historic O'odam as Haury proposed). However, its
been only a few years since his passing (and his most forcefully
protection of this theory has finally ended). We have let ourselves
discover that the demographic movement was actually from north to
south. This has largely not worked its way into the more general
literature and many still mindlessly trod a dead end.

This theory of an agricultural inspired demographic expansion into
Europe from the Near East is at best dull, simplistic, and lazy but
far worse it just does not work. On whatever scale one wants to use,
early agriculture requires population aggregation not dispersal. In
other words it pulls people into zones where early agriculture is
most productive while the associated technology is transmitted
primarily by interaction and the incorporation of local populations.
We've also found that when agriculture becomes intensive or utilities
complex hydraulic systems, the cycle of aggregation and incorporation
accelerates. This is paralleled by a net decline in the core AG
population and an increase in the factors that favor
demographic shifts from peripheral areas into the given core.

This early-AG-demo-expansion-into-Europe-theory falls into the same
lame category as using population as the prime mover for the
development of early agriculture and increased complexity.

Again not to be too harsh



JS Crary