Becoming farmers: The inside story

Neolithization processes in the Levant differed from those in Europe. A major population growth was already occurring in the former at the onset of the Late Glacial Maximum. Population growth was not linear but rather reflected local circumstances, both external and internal. In addition to changing environmental conditions, the social implications of growth in community sizes within specific areas should be taken into account. The solutions and mechanisms that people devised during the transition to agriculture in order to counter the stresses stemming from those developments pertain to the tempo and scope of the changes as well as to endemic traditions.