15 000 years ago, humans were foragers and hunters. Fossil evidence shows palaeolithic hunters and gathers were healthier than neolithic agriculturalists. Anthropologists who have studied modern day hunters and gathers say they also spent less time working. Growing crops arose independently in many places around the world.
Advantages of Agriculture:
- control of plants meant less starvation
- food surpluses
- cities and towns could be built with division of labour
Disadvantages of Agriculture:
- the environment is radically changed
- farming is hard
- Non-egalitarian cultures formed with slaves and low paid labourers
- Warring over land
Herders domesticated animals. The animals gave them food, shelter, and transportation. But herding made it more difficult to build cities and towns because herds had to be moved around to be fed. Animals like dogs, cattle, chickens, and pigs were domesticated. The llama were raised South America.
Possible Reasons for the Spread of Agriculture
- Population pressure to feed more people
- Abundance gave people gave people leisure to experiment with domestication and farming plants
- Planting originated as a fertility rite
- Grains for alcohol
- Accidental
Agriculture is a co-evolving process with civilization.
Their development of agriculture resulted in permanent settlements that grew to cities and nations. Their population exploded. They all cultivated a starchy staple. They all used rivers for transporting of goods and irrigation. This meant they were all vulnerable to drought.
Seeds, like corn, rice, barley, and wheat, lend themselves to domestication likely because they are high calorie and can be fed to livestock. Also sweet potatoes were domesticated in South America and Africa. Sweet potatoes are also high calorie. All of these foods could be stored without a fridge for a long time and so food could be stockpiled.
There is more lactose tolerance in Northern Europe and Northern Asia where herding and the consuming of dairy was a big part of the Agricultural Revolution. The other places with lots of lactose tolerance have a high level of European ancestry like North America and Australia.