Theoretical issues in the study of early farming societies

The argument is presented here that the investigation of early farming societies must be integrated more closely with central questions in ecological and economic anthropology rather than focus solely on the recovery of subsistence data. A major emphasis of ecological and economic anthropology is the analysis of decision-making, particulary under conditions of risk and uncertainty. The social context where much of such decision-making occurs is the household, and the analysis of household structure in early farming societies holds great promise.