Pre-Agricultural Human Environmental Impact Essay

From the early prehistoric society until now, we often heard the word “adaptation”, which means the process of changing something or changing our behavior to deal with new situations. The ways people adjust their natural environment varies according to time, place, and tribe. Foraging is common way of adaptation that people uses for most of human history; however because of the population pressure, some people adopt agriculture to fulfill their need. This essay, will discuss the positive and negative aspects of life in hunting and gathering societies compared to the agricultural societies based on Martin Harris’ article “Murders in Eden” and Jared Diamond’s article “The Worst Mistake in the History of Human Race.”

The revolutionizing transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture was a central shift in the way homo sapiens lived that occurred twelve thousand years ago. Consequently, several factors contributed to this astonishing modification of life including increasing population size, favorable environments such as the Nile River in Egypt and the Fertile Crescent in the Mediterranean. Furthermore, the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture allowed for mass production of food in order for the sustainability of the increasing population size, but with agriculture also came specialization and the division of labor ultimately leading to moral inequality.

Due to the domestication of animals along with plants these nomadic people created steady food source no longer requiring them to follow their food but raise it themselves (Author 2010). The wheel was not created until the Bronze age, therefore animals were not used for farming, put they provide other resources to humans (Authors 2007). Much like today they used the wool from sheep for clothing, other animals such as goats where used for meat and even milk. During the Neolithic Revolution, the first wolves were domesticated as pups to help with herding once grown (Authors 20071). Other animals they domesticated are pigs and cattle. Because of their ever-growing knowledge of farming, they also would use the manure of the animals as fertilizer in the fields to richen the soil for the crops (Authors 2007).

4. Humans used fire to ward off predators, adapt to colder climates, and to assist in hunting and gathering. Other technologies included stone tools which were used for both hunting and protection.

During the Neolithic Revolution, food was obtained by producing it. They developed the ability to farm and domesticate animals to help them with agricultural chores. Getting food was easier than ever. However, life around 8000 BCE was not always so efficient. According to Document 1, “So long as they relied on foraging, hunting, fishing, and trapping, they were dependent on the natural food supply.” Control was weak and guarantee was slim in the Paleolithic era. People had no

Humanity adapted to agriculture in the Neolithic Era; man began to plant crops instead wandering around and gathering. Farming made it easier for humans to control their food supply. Another impact to adapting to agriculture, was that it made people decide to settling down permanently, which led to the creation of villages. Furthermore,

Introduction: The emergence of agriculture was a major stepping stone in human history. During this birth of agriculture, also known as the Neolithic revolution, humans began inhabiting permanent settlements, grow their own crops, and domesticate both plants and animals for food (Weisdorf, 2005). Considering humans have been hunter-gatherers for the

Throughout history, the result of any revolution is change. Change is present within humankind as the first prehumen hominids evolved to modern humans. It was present when fire was first learned to be made, stones were first meant to be used as tools, and humans first learned to communicate. Change

Environmental Scan Essay 4/20/2013 Environmental scanning can be viewed as a way of acquiring information about outside events that can aid organizations in first identifying potential trends, then interpreting them

First, I would like to discuss the strategy of hunting and gathering, the sole strategy until twelve thousand years ago. Hunting and gathering is a form of subsistence dependent upon wild plants and animals for the majority of the calories of the diet. While its name underscores the importance of hunting in this lifestyle, this is misleading as the majority of caloric needs in societies practicing this strategy are met by gathering wild edible plants and berries.

Human Impact on the Environment About three hundred years ago there was a definite spurt in the population of the human race. This was brought about with advancements in sanitation and technology, as well as a dramatic fall in the death rate. By around 1850 the world's population had grown to about 1 billion and by 1930 it had risen to 2 billion. The current figure is around 6 billion and at this rate the United Nations estimates the population will be at about 9 billion by 2054. This would be a 900% increase in just 200 years. This increase in population has meant that the world's resources have been put under a great strain in order to sustain the human race. But it has only been in recent The culture of many forest-peoples has been destroyed and deforestation also affects the livelihoods of between 200 and 500 million people, who depend on the rainforest for their shelter and food. Deforestation may also lead to global climate imbalances. There is also a major problem when it comes to carbon storage. With the removal of the trees excessive carbon dioxide levels in the environment may lead to global warming, with many problematic side effects. While deforestation is now viewed as problem, historically it was considered to assist natural development and so now some countries rely on the rainforest for income and the problem will continue whilst they have no alternative. Another problem caused by humans is as a result of the increase in demand for extensive farming throughout the world. In order for crops to be grown trees have to be cut down and I have explained the effects

Mark Collard’s lecture was about risk, demography, and technological evolution in non-industrial populations and he discussed the evolution of tool use among a variety of groups of hunter-gatherers and food-producing communities. Collard states that the number and complexity of tools varies greatly among populations and he focuses on why this variation exists. He starts off by discussing and analyzing toolkit variation in both hunter-gatherer and farming societies and then moves on to discuss overall technological variation in these societies and the possible explanation for it.

The Relationship Between Humans and the Environment Nearly everything that a human does is in response to the environment. Our lives are defined by what is around us and what we find in front of us, whether this means accepting, dealing with or changing it. This has been the pattern since primates first stood up and became Homo erectus, and has continued until we considered ourselves doubly wise. The shape of the land affected where humans moved. Weather was something with which to contend. Fire affected humans until they conquered it – and herein lies the core of the relationship. The earth affects humans, and humans affect it back, viewing characteristics and patterns as problems and challenges, and finding a solution.

Effects of Agriculture on the Environment Introduction:      Agriculture has changed dramatically, especially since the end of World War II. Food and fibre productivity rose due to new technologies, mechanization, increased chemical use, specialization and government policies that favoured maximizing production. These changes allowed fewer farmers with reduced labour demands to produce the majority of the food and fibre.

There are four stages of human cultural evolution: Hunting and gathering, agricultural, industrial, and advanced industrial. The preindustrial era was best for the environment because it had little negative impact on the environment. Specifically, the hunting and gathering stage of human cultural evolution was best for a watershed because of its minimal effect on the environment. The population of hunters and gatherers was small due to natural forces causing them to have a low demand for resources (Chiras, 2016). Therefore, they were able to live off renewable resources and did not have a problem with limited resources. The main food source of hunters and gatherers were fruits, seeds, and berries they picked, as well as animal meat obtained from hunting. These allowed them to live in harmony with the organisms in the environment without causing extinction of animals and plants. Furthermore, the lifestyle of hunters and gatherers was comfortable and sustainable. They were well fed, experienced low disease rates, did not have to perform many laborious tasks. Humans in hunting and gathering societies lived as a part of nature and had little impact on their environment making it the best stage of cultural evolution for a watershed (Chiras,