Farmers and language dispersals

[Lyle Campbell]

Dear All,

If you have not yet seen or heard of it, let me mention Jared Diamond
and Peter Bellwood's "Farmers and their languages: the first
expansions" (SCIENCE vol 300, 25 April 2003) (available also on
www.sciencemag.org, at
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/300/5619/597, if you
have access).

My hunch is that many mainstream historical linguists and specialists
in various language families will find much to disagree with in this
paper; my question is, is anyone intending a letter to SCIENCE in
response?  (I am not able to respond myself.  If anyone is really
interested, a paper of mine  responding to major claims is available
on the departmental website here:
http://www.ling.canterbury.ac.nz/lyle-pubs.html
[In press.  What drives linguistic diversity?  Language-Farming
Dispersals, ed. by Colin Renfrew and Peter Bellwood. Cambridge:
McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.])  I am surprised and
somewhat sorry that Peter Bellwood, one of the authors of the Science
paper and an editor of the volume where my paper will appear, did not
take into account the serious problems pointed out there for the
hypotheses advocated in this Science piece.

Best, Lyle

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