The Origins of Agriculture and the domestication of Crop Plants in the Near East: The Harlan Symposium

Abstract

Wheat and barley together with lentils were among the earliest crops to be domesticated in the "Fertile Crescent," an arc of land that connects the river valleys of the Euphrates and the Tigris with that of the Jordan. It has become increasingly clear that studies on crop-plant domestication can no longer rely solely on archaeological data but would have to combine the findings of archaeobotanists, archaeozoologists, anthropologists and ecologists to put together all the pieces of the puzzle as to how agriculture actually began. A Symposium dedicated to the work of Prof. Jack R. Harlan on the "Origins of Agriculture and Domestication of Crop Plants in the Near East" was held at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), 10-14 May 1997 as part of ICARDA's 20th Anniversary Celebrations. There was a good response to the call for papers for presentation at the Symposium from scientists of diverse disciplines. There were over 60 participants from more than 23 countries. Over 30 papers and posters were presented.