<i>First Farmers: the Origins of Agricultural Societies</i> offers readers an understanding of the origins and histories of early agricultural populations in all parts of the world.<br><br><ul><br><li>Uses data from archaeology, comparative linguistics, and biological anthropology to cover developments over the past 12,000 years <br><li>Examines the reasons for the multiple primary origins of agriculture <br><li>Focuses on agricultural origins in and dispersals out of the Middle East, central Africa, China, New Guinea, Mesoamerica and the northern Andes <br><li>Covers the origins and dispersals of major language families such as Indo-European, Austronesian, Sino-Tibetan, Niger-Congo and Uto-Aztecan</li></ul>