The other day, I read a book written by a university professor about human evolution, focusing on the transition from Paleolithic hunters and gatherers to Neolithic farmers and stockbreeders. I was struck by the way it dismantles the popular narrative that human history is a straight line toward progress and prosperity. According to this perspective, the adoption of agriculture was, in many ways, a major step backward.
Paleolithic communities lived mostly peaceful lives marked by equality, freedom, and solidarity. Every newborn was equal to any other. Children were raised collectively, food and shelter were shared, and care was provided even in sickness and old age. Survival depended on cooperation, not competition.
They also enjoyed a surprising amount of free time. A few hours of hunting and gathering were enough to secure a varied and healthy diet. With no borders or restrictions, movement was free. Group decisions were made through discussion, aiming for consensus rather than authority.
It sounds like a utopia, doesn’t it?
Then came agriculture and animal husbandry, along with long working hours, poorer nutrition, and disease. Even average human height dropped by almost ten percent. Although we eventually recovered physically over the next ten thousand years and modern health has improved dramatically, the social consequences of this shift are still painfully visible.
A successful harvest creates surplus, and surplus needs storage and protection. From there, hierarchy follows. Fortified settlements appear. Power concentrates. People stop being equal. A few rule, while the rest obey. And here we are today, living in a world shaped by inequality, exploitation, and systems run by people who seem incapable of anything but domination.
I don't have the ambition to squeeze a whole book in such a short post, I just felt that those thoughts fit nicely along my monochrome pictures of my olive grove. If you can read Greek, the book is called η συμβιωτική περιπέτεια and I recommend it wholeheartedly.
I am translating from the back cover of the book:
This book narrates when, how, and why Paleolithic humans replaced hunting, gathering food from nature, and a nomadic way of life with agriculture, animal husbandry and permanent settlement. It examines when, how, and why these changes led to the development of technological civilization and the accumulation of wealth and population. At the same time, it explores how they marked the decline of the egalitarian, generous, and cooperative Paleolithic ethos, allowing the gradual emergence of today’s competitive societies marked by evident inequality.
The provocative title of this post is borrowed from an article by Jared Diamond, published in Discover Magazine, in 1987 which addresses to the same subject.
This is my entry for the #monomad challenge.
The camera that I used is a Canon EOS 6D mark II with an EF 100mm f2.8/L macro lens attached. I edited the photographs in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic.
Unless stated otherwise, all the pictures and the words are mine.
Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.
Commenting, upvoting and rebloging are highly appreciated!
Thank you for sharing this reading. Balance is what the world needs. Once it is lost, finding it seems difficult, yet perhaps everything can be recovered, beginning from our micro‑universes and expanding as an example to all humanity.
Many people are adopting community ways of life, returning to the land and to what is natural.
It is a subject that invites much conversation. ;)
Nice work as always.
Thank you, I am glad you liked it!
Balance is one of the many things that we have lost and who knows how and if we can regain them. But it is good to realize it and do our best.
Cheers!
A tree that seems to have been born to be photographed in B&W!... Excellent! 👏👏👏
I thought the exact same thing while reading the post.
Overall, the entire set of photos is exceptionally good. I'm completely captivated by them. Bravo @fotostef!
Thank you @inmyframe, I am glad you liked them!
Thank you very much @jlinaresp :)
Thank you very much @qurator and @brumest for all your support!
Beautiful details in nature, I think it's a lovely way to capture this beautiful environment that we rarely appreciate in our daily lives.
Thank you for stopping by @naitreart, I am glad you enjoyed it :)
The book seems to paint a very rosy picture of Paleolithic tribes. Sure, they got along well within the tribe, but there was not a lot of cooperation between them, and when two tribes disputed territory, it usually ended with the total destruction of one of them. Paleolithic tribes also had technology, but it was generally limited to the development of weapons and clothing.
I used to think so too :)
Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read my post!