The Pros And Cons Of The Neolithic Revolution

Words: 418
Pages: 2
Open Document
It is my belief that humanity as a whole would have been better off if we had continued a nomadic, hunter-gatherer existence. The first red flag in favor of my view is the Neolithic Revolution and its irreversible nature: "...food production spread rapidly, partly because subsequent population growth prevented people from reverting to hunting and gathering" (Fagan 344). As a result, regardless of the potentially catastrophic consequences the adoption of agriculture could wreak, humans were unable to once again become hunters and gatherers because there would not be enough material to support the rising populations.
The comic that we have presented as a humorous prompt, seems to largely support the idea that the Neolithic Revolution was a good thing – an inevitable progress. In the bottom right portion of the comic, however, we see a small aside labeled as a disclaimer that briefly lists potential drawbacks. This list includes, …show more content…
How do you show that the lives of people 10,000 years ago got better when they abandoned hunting and gathering for farming? Until recently, archaeologists had to resort to indirect tests, whose results...failed to support the progressivist view" (Diamond). One such test proved to be in favor of my view instead. This test examined groups of twentieth-century hunter-gatherers and the amount of time that was required for them to subsist "...the Kalahari bushmen, continue to support themselves that way [hunting and gathering]. It turns out that these people...work less hard than their farming neighbors...the average time devoted each week to obtaining food is only 12 to 19 hours..." (Diamond). If humans had remained hunter-gatherers, we would be eating healthier, our environment would not be in the dire situation it is in, and to top it off, we would "...have plenty of leisure time...and work less hard than [our] farming neighbors"
Show More

Related Documents: The Pros And Cons Of The Neolithic Revolution

Pros And Cons Of The Neolithic Revolution

by cave paintings and religious rituals. 2) The Neolithic Revolution started in the Middle East and it started because a: people were looking and were interested in more sources of food & b: the end of the ice age wiped out the big game for hunter gatherers, which led to reason a. 3) The building of social classes, the development of technology, increased population in areas and greater wealth were the long term effects of the Neolithic Revolution. 4) Advantages of the agricultural based society…

Words 328 - Pages 2

Essay on History test ch 1

1 points Homo sapiens first evolved in Correct Answer: Africa. Question 11 1 out of 1 points The Phoenicians Correct Answer: invented an alphabet. Question 12 1 out of 1 points What was the central aspect of the Neolithic Revolution? Correct Answer: The emergence of systematic food production through the domestication of plants and animals. Question 13 1 out of 1 points The use of fire may have begun about Correct Answer: 500,000 years ago. Question…

Words 2579 - Pages 11

Essay about Water and Habitable Planet Unit

A.P. Environmental Science Syllabus 2009-2010 General scope and sequence for the course |Unit |Topic |Relevant Text Chapters | |1 |Sound Science, Stewardship and Sustainability |1, 22 | |2 |Ecosystems and Biogeochemical Cycles |2, 3, 4…

Words 4001 - Pages 17

Hydroponics and Water Essay

inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2012) Agriculture General History History of agriculture History of organic farming Arab Agricultural Revolution British Agricultural Revolution Green Revolution Neolithic Revolution Types Aquaculture Aquaponics Dairy farming Grazing Hydroponics Livestock Natural farming Orchard Pig farming Poultry farming Ranching Sharecropping Sheep husbandry Slash-and-burn Categories Agricultural…

Words 5449 - Pages 22

Anth101 Study Guide Essay

Week 1 Anthropology=Study of Humankind Human species and ancestors Holistic(整体的)--past, present, and future; biology, society, language, and culture Comparative, cross-cultural perspective Exploring variation in time (diachronic历经时间长河的) and space (synchronic不考虑历史上变化的) Anthropology in the news: http://anthropology.tamu.edu/html/in-the-news.html Adaptation It is all about adaptation What distinguishes humans from other species? Before J. Goodall, it was just technology Bipedalism（两足动物）…

Words 9384 - Pages 38