The Transition to Agriculture
The Transition to Agriculture
HIS 103
14 November, 2011
Ever wonder what life would be like if we never transitioned to agriculture? We might still be hunting for food, moving from place to place, and with a world population of less than a million. But how did we transition to agriculture? The mix between pure coincidence and Mother Nature helped develop the path to the transition to agriculture. For over 100,000 years, the first people, later known as the Natufian people, were known for being the hunter-gatherers during the Paleolithic Era. It was right after the an ice age that lasted for over 400,000 years that these people scavenged the lands of Europe for food; hunting for wild animals and gathering wild grown plants. They depended on this as their way of life and as a result they were never able to settle down anywhere. Since they moved from place to place in the search for more food, the populations of their tribes were very low at about 25 to 50 people. The world population was a fraction of what it is today, being less than a million people.
Although life was hard, it gave the Natufian people more leisure time during this period. Remains tell us that they sculpted their tools into beautiful works of art, drew hieroglyphics on cave walls, and put more time into making pots and other containers. Skeletons also indicate that the Natufians were physically fit, as hunting is a very dangerous and physically demanding endeavor. The weapons they used, like spears, were very brittle and took a lot of upkeep. Other weapons, like the bola and slingshot were great for capturing animals; however, they were not very accurate. Tools within society like the early grinders, made of salt blocks, were very heavy and couldn’t be carried from site to site. These people needed a way to make better weapons and tools, and not have to spend weeks hunting for food.
After the Natufian men had come back from their hunts and women from gathering the wild plants, they would
HIS 103
14 November, 2011
Ever wonder what life would be like if we never transitioned to agriculture? We might still be hunting for food, moving from place to place, and with a world population of less than a million. But how did we transition to agriculture? The mix between pure coincidence and Mother Nature helped develop the path to the transition to agriculture. For over 100,000 years, the first people, later known as the Natufian people, were known for being the hunter-gatherers during the Paleolithic Era. It was right after the an ice age that lasted for over 400,000 years that these people scavenged the lands of Europe for food; hunting for wild animals and gathering wild grown plants. They depended on this as their way of life and as a result they were never able to settle down anywhere. Since they moved from place to place in the search for more food, the populations of their tribes were very low at about 25 to 50 people. The world population was a fraction of what it is today, being less than a million people.
Although life was hard, it gave the Natufian people more leisure time during this period. Remains tell us that they sculpted their tools into beautiful works of art, drew hieroglyphics on cave walls, and put more time into making pots and other containers. Skeletons also indicate that the Natufians were physically fit, as hunting is a very dangerous and physically demanding endeavor. The weapons they used, like spears, were very brittle and took a lot of upkeep. Other weapons, like the bola and slingshot were great for capturing animals; however, they were not very accurate. Tools within society like the early grinders, made of salt blocks, were very heavy and couldn’t be carried from site to site. These people needed a way to make better weapons and tools, and not have to spend weeks hunting for food.
After the Natufian men had come back from their hunts and women from gathering the wild plants, they would