The First Farmers

More than 8,000 years ago in what is now the Middle Eastern country of Jordan, a people known as the Natufians made an enormous step on the road towards civilization when they began to actively cultivate crops, signaling the onset of the paradigmatic shift from a nomadic hunter/gatherer lifestyle to a village-based agricultural society. In the beautifully filmed The First Farmers, one of three titles in The Origins of Civilization series--originally broadcast on Australian television--historical dramatic re-enactments are combined with modern footage of archeological digs to open a window on the past that also offers insights into archeology itself (including how a muddy artifact can lead to a scholarly breakthrough). Although a bit slow at times, this program does a fine job of depicting the culture and habitat of prehistoric peoples and their revolutionary discovery of agrarian practices. The other titles in the series are The First Towns & Villages and The End of the Stone Age. Recommended. Aud: J, H, P. (E. Gieschen)