The Herding Revolution in the Desert: Adoption, Adaptation, and Social Evolution in the Negev and Levantine Deserts

Neolithisation in the Levantine deserts, the rise of pastoral so- cieties in the arid periphery of the Mediterranean zone, com- prised a patchwork of cumulative adaptations, chronologically and geographically varying according to the specifics of envi- ronmental and historical circumstances. These adaptations af- fected all realms of society, including basic organization, cos- mologies, economy and subsistence, and ecology. Neolithisa- tion began with the evolution of small-scale pastoral bands, but culminated in the crystallization of larger groups with deep economic links to the settled zone. It was neither lin- ear, continuous, nor based on any single threshold or defining variable. Like the adoption of farming, it spanned several mil- lennia and included complex formulations of social change.