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Origins of food production in early civilizations.

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Under what circumstances do anthropologists think people started producing their own food rather than mainly gathering or hunting?

There are several theories that have been postulated to explain the emergence of planting and the domestication of animals as opposed to hunting and gathering. One is that environmental and/or climate changes caused a decrease in the available wild food options for a specific people group. Due to this unforeseen change they were forced to choose between moving on to new hunting grounds or attempt to plant crops and domesticate animals. Some groups chose to abandon the hunter/gatherer lifestyle. Another theory states that as the human population of a clan or tribal group grew, eventually it would reach a point that could not be sustained by the food that could be hunted and gathered. In order to support a growing population people groups were forced to branch out and begin farming and domesticating animals in addition to continued hunting and gathering efforts.

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This is a discussion of how, when and why people in early civilizations began planting and harvesting food instead of hunting and gathering. Over 1,200 words of original text including links to informative websites.

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Under what circumstances do anthropologists think people started producing their own food rather than mainly gathering or hunting?

There are several theories that have been postulated to explain the emergence of planting and the domestication of animals as opposed to hunting and gathering. One is that environmental and/or climate changes caused a decrease in the available wild food options for a specific people group. Due to this unforeseen change they were forced to choose between moving on to new hunting grounds or attempt to plant crops and domesticate animals. Some groups chose to abandon the hunter/gatherer lifestyle. Another theory states that as the human population of a clan or tribal group grew, eventually it would reach a point that could not be sustained by the food that could be hunted and gathered. In order to support a growing population people groups were forced to branch out and begin farming and domesticating animals in addition to continued hunting and gathering efforts.

What are some advantages and disadvantages of food producing subsistence patterns?

There are many advantages in food producing patterns of civilization. First of all people tend to band together in larger settlements. This makes defense easier as well as increases the ability to work together to solve problems. The more people that are available to help solve a problem, the more potential solutions the civilization would have to work with. Another advantage would be the increase in population. A settled lifestyle would allow for food storage which would lead to a surplus of food. With a surplus of food people could have larger families and still be able to care for and feed them. As people began to settle the increase in food production would lead to a development in trade and businesses. As each person didn't have to spend all of their time growing food they could use their time to develop interests or ...

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