The First Farmers had an economy, which paved way for sedentary life, fully setteled villages and finally for the development of urban civiliation. They departed from thr earlier hunter- gatherer way of life in the sence that they now subsisted on the food partly produced by themselves. therefore the study of the emergence of this phase of human history and subsequent developments are given prime importance all over the world. It is believed that the agricluture began in the west Asia around the begining of Holocene in a region known as "Fertile Cresent" with the domestication of Barliey and wheat of which the region has been a natural habitat. During the past few decades another Fertile Crescent has emerged in East Asia in China, where the cultivation of rice began much earlier than the emergence of agriculture in west Asia. Apart from this researches carried form Africa and Europe and another parts of the world have brought to light new evidences regarding the indiginous development and spread of early agricluture. The invistigations comprising studies of Palynological remains, phytolith, diatom, DNA etc. and the edvent of AMS dating have added new facets to these researches. As far as the Indian subcontinent is concerned, the begining of wheat and barliey cultivation at Kachi Plain in Baluchistan(Pakistan) goes back to seventh millennium BC. More recently the evdience for rice cultivitation in seventh millennium BC has also been recorded from Lahuradewa in the Ganga Plain. Studies on lake cores at Lahuradewa and sanai Tal in the same region indicates that it might have even earlier genesis as early as in the concluding Pleistocene phase of the earliest Holocene. The proposed Seminar will provide an opportuinity to project these finds before the scholoars engaged in the First Farming Cultures world over. It would also be an occasion for the participating delegates to interact among themselves and to exchange notes on their latest finds with a view to formulating future collabioratiorative projects with the recent scientific inputs. The proposed seminar is being organised by the Directorate of U.P State Archaeology Department of Culture, Government of Uttar Pradesh and will be held in Lucknow. The venue of the conference will be communicated later.

With a population of almost three million, lucknow does justice to being the capital of India's most populated state. Its ancient settlement located on the right bank of Gomti River, known as Lakshmana Tila and Tila Phi Muhammad provides evidences for a continous settlement of about 3000 yrs. However as the available records show it came into prominese after the collapse of the Mughal Empire when the kingdom of Awadh emerged as a regional power and Asuf-ud-Daula shifted the capital from Faiabad to Lucknow. Largely the creation of Nawabs(rulers) of Awadh, the city still reflects its 18th century Muslim flavour mixed with magnificent presence of British and European architecture. Lucknow is famous for the Chikan Kari embroidery work.