In 1987 Jarred Diamond wrote the article "The worst mistake in the human history". He said that there were two types of historians Progressivists, those who thought history was the path of progress and revisionists, those who thought that history needed changed. Jarred Diamond was a revisionist, he believed that the worst mistake in human history was when people changed from nomadic hunter gatherers to agriculture cities. He believed this because he thought that the nomads had a better diet than the Neolithic. Even though the nomads had more meat and calcium than the Neolithic, but the nomads were still eating week old food and raw meats that caused sickness and in some cases death (Katherine J. Lethal 2013).The Neolithic were better in many …show more content…
ways than the Paleolithic . They had many more resources, tools, and they lead to what the world is like today. (Andrew Sherratt 2005). In Jarred Diamond's article he explains that the nomads had a better life than the Neolithic.
The Paleolithic had a better chance of dying than the Neolithic. If you don't find any food in the Paleo time then you're not going to be able to live and probably die. Also when you are in hot deserts as a nomad and searching for water you probably won't find anything. Although if you are a Nomad settling down in a city near water. I think you will have a better chance of survival. You would be able to grow food and wheat. The Neolithic learned irrigation, domestication of plants, domestication of animals, plows, Fishing hooks, flutes, cities, and so much more. In the Paleolithic do you think that you would be able to kill a deer with a rock? Probably not but thanks to technology to the Neolithic you could kill a deer with one or two arrows and be able to store it in pottery. The technology that they had at this time made it better for survival and made it possible for them to live a longer and safer life. When they lived in a community they were not always hunting for food and this made more inventions come in mind. The wheel was made, tools for farming, plows, weapons, the bow and arrow. Without these things there may have never been some of the things we have …show more content…
today Jarred Diamond is wrong about agriculture being an unhealthy decision.
Agriculture is what keeps us alive today. We have stores that are filled with produce such as fruits and vegetables.If there was no agriculture there would be no Stores, farms and you would have to find your own food. If you were in the Paleolithic time how would you know what eat, there are thousands of different types of berries and poisonous nuts, how would we know? When one of your group members dies do you just walk away or do you look at your member and try to figure out how he died and learn what happens when you eat poisonous things. I think after a while the nomads would figure it out, but when we are in the Neolithic era when we would eat food we would then see that many people die or get sick because of eating one farmer's crops. Then would we would get rid of those crops and eat something else.Without agriculture we would have nothing. It gives us food, teas, medicine, ex. Thanks to the Neolithic we have everything that we need.what if the Neolithic never changed, then what would it be like today? Would there ever be permanent homs or would we always wander, scavenging for our next meal. Although that would keep population down, we would still be starving and thirsty. We would be hunting for our next meal with a rock and wearing old animal skins. Thank the Neolithic time for settling down and making homes. This has make a huge impact on our world today and what it is
like. Diseases, the world's number one problem today. These diseases like cancer, leukemia, and so many more diseases that could kill you today. But did agriculture cause these things? Was agriculture actually the worst thing ever? Cancer, the worst disease known today, many different man made product can cause it. Though is it caused by agriculture? Cancer is caused by the body when altered cells divide rapidly to form lumps of tissue called tumors. The cause isn't agriculture, this is only caused by the body! Leukemia, this is caused by altered DNA cells build up on the bone marrow causing in most cases death. Agriculture has nothing to do with these diseases. Though diseases are not being caused by overcrowding. When you live in a city, overcrowded and full of people. You can very easily get sick. Compare the Neolithic city to a school, when one kid is sick and comes to school everything they touch and do can make other kids sick. In the Neolithic people have no immunity to illnesses or shots like we do now. Then, the flu could be deadly and half of the people in your city could catch it and die. Diseases like, pneumonia, RSV bronchiolitis, meningococcal disease, gastroenteritis, Haemophilus influenzae (Hib) disease, Hepatitis A, Helicobacter pylori infection, and tuberculosis can be caused by overcrowding. Most of these would be deadly in the Neolithic/Paleolithic time. But even though this may happen, the Neolithic time led to how our cities and economy is now. Us a humans have found out more about diseases. We have learned that certain plants can make us feel better and that different mixtures can make pain disappear and the Neolithic lead to this. The time of the Neolithic lead to the arrival of new things, types of transportation, new weapons. All of this because of nomadic people that settled in to one place. In conclusion I think that Jarred Diamond was entirely wrong and I highly disagree with him. Agriculture had positive impacts on the world. Diseases were more caused by the body's reactions and how they were born. Food was more advanced and tools helped you have a better lifestyle. These are all reasons that I know Jarred Diamond was wrong.
Paleolithic is often referred to as the Old Stone Age. "Paleo" means old and "lithic" means stone. The Neolithic time period is often referred to as the New Stone Age. "Neo" means new and "lithic" also means stone. The Paleolithic culture or way of life began about 2.5 to 2 million years ago. The Paleolithic Period ended at different times in different parts of the world, generally around 12,000 years ago in Europe and the Middle East. When the Paleolithic period ended, the Neolithic period took over and began 12,000 years ago somewhere in the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is characterized by the beginning of farming, the domestication of animals, the development of crafts such as pottery and weaving, and the making of polished stone tools. Life changed dramatically between Paleolithic and Neolithic times.
The Neolithic Period was a shift to a more civilized man. The people had new ideas and were changing their environment making life easier. The adaptation of agriculture in the Neolithic Era was valuable because it created a stable life rather than a nomadic one. In Neolithic village life they grew crops and indulged
12,000 years ago, the discovery of agriculture triggered such a change in society and the way in which people lived that we now call this important era in time the “Neolithic Revolution.” Traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyles were cast away in favor of more permanent settlements and a reliable food supply. Agriculture helped form cities and civilizations, and because crops and animals could now be farmed to meet growing demand, populations skyrocketed from around five million people 10,000 years ago, to more the more than seven billion people that walk this earth today.1
The Neolithic Revolution was the period in time where agriculture was created. Many people question whether the transition from nomads to settlements was a positive or negative impact in human history. The transition brought upon; population increases, lack of crucial vitamins, various diseases and even deforestation. I believe that the Neolithic Revolution was a negative impact on humans because of all the risks that came with it. Before the Revolution people were happily living a nomadic lifestyle. They painted, had dedicated faith, sang, told stories, and had more time to bond with their families. The transition increased health risks, warfare and the laziness of people. It brought on social classes which lead people to only think about
Life has changed tremendously in the past till date. Many changes have occurred both in the social, economic, and political facets of life. There are many changes still occurring with the evidence of shifting from old ways to new lifestyles in evident across the board. Lifestyles have also taken a different turn in the event that most people do not live in the old patterns and beliefs of life. Many people have thus not only forsaken the old ways and lifestyles but it is also important to embrace the idea and truth that the world has taken a different angle in every aspect. Technology has introduced various notes that have influenced the turn of events. Today, every feature of society is manipulated through the eye of technology, knowledge,
Jared Diamond makes the argument that when humans decided 10,000 years ago to no longer be hunter-gatherers and made the decision to become sedentary and start domesticating their animals and crops, the result is that the human race has experienced a steady downfall. Diamond makes the point that “with agriculture came the gross social and sexual inequality, the disease and despotism that curse our existence,” (Diamond). While the present system certainly is far from being perfected, Diamond’s various complaints and solutions certainly would not be of much use in the present time either.
Authors, Various. The Origins Of Civilizations, "The Agrarian Revolution And The Birth Of Civilization." Last modified 2007. Accessed March 23, 2012. http://history-world.org/neolithic.htm.
The blessing and curse of the Agricultural Revolution is advocated with its augmentation and dissemination. Taking the stipulative definition of “blessing” and “curse” from the original premise, one can only superimpose the layman’s terms of “negative” and “positive”. Upon examination of the two classifications within the Neolithic Period and ancient Mesopotamian civilization one can confirm the premise. Therefore, the agriculture revolution was a blessing and a curse for humanity. Human society began to emerge in the Neolithic Period or the New Stone Age. This new age began around 9,000 B.C.E. by the development of agriculture in the region surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and what is commonly referred to as “The Fertile Crescent” located in West Asia.1 The very development of agriculture had benefited humans by no longer having to move about in search of wild game and plants. Unencumbered by nomadic life humans found little need to limit family size and possessions and settled in a single location for many years. One negative aspect of this settling is that the population increased so much so that wild food sources were no longer sufficient to support large groups. Forced to survive by any means necessary they discovered using seeds of the most productive plants and clearing weeds enhanced their yield.2 This also lead humans to develop a wider array of tools far superior to the tools previously used in the Paleolithic Period or Old Stone Age. The spread of the Agricultural Revolution in the Neolithic Period also cultivated positive aspects by creating connections with other cultures and societies. Through these connections they exchanged knowledge, goods, and ideas on herding and farming.3 Another major positive aspec...
The separation of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages mark a great divide in the lives and cultures of prehistoric peoples. Many aspects of everyday life were modified to suit a new standard of living. Society, Economy, and Technology were greatly affected by the "Agricultural Revolution" that spawned the Neolithic Age.
If you lived during the Stone Ages, would you prefer to live in a temporary home or in a permanent home? People who lived in the Paleolithic Era had a very tough life and faced many obstacles compared to those living in the Neolithic Era. There were many disadvantages to living before 10,000 BC, such as living in temporary homes and moving from place to place. Thanks to the Neolithic people, the quality of life improved dramatically for everyone because they invented new technology that is still used today.
The choice to change to an agricultural society may have actually been the best choice available when considering the conditions that existed at the time of the dramatic change from a primarily hunter-gather society to an agricultural society, it may have been the ...
Cipolla calls it the first great economic revolution (Cipolla 18). The development of agriculture leads to the development of communities, city-states, civilizations, and other settlements. The social structure that formed around agriculture brought about the possibility of specialization within a society, since not everyone had to hunt and gather all the time. Instead of living in an ecologically sustainable manner like the hunter/gatherers, people started living in an economic manner (Southwick 128). Specialization enabled the development of social institutions such as religion and government, and agriculture necessitated the development of irrigation.
Mistakes are actually a very influential part of a person’s upbringing in life. Mistakes shape a person’s character to make them who they are today. A mistake can teach someone many different life lessons that will better them as a person and make their lives more enjoyable. A person will commit a mistake usually when he or she is distracted. Distraction is the number one cause of mistakes in our world today. Many people are afraid of making mistakes, so they play it safe in life and don’t strive to achieve everything they are capable of achieving. This is a very bad thing. People should not be afraid of the potential mistakes there are to be made. Instead, they should focus more on the great lengths they could go in life by pursuing their goals. Mistakes will happen on life’s journeys,
...as greatly advanced in the past 200 years thanks to mechanical tools replacing manual labor. It is the most important industry and will forever remain the base of our economy. Humans have constantly been trying to make it easier and quicker to produce crops, from wooden ploughs to pesticides. Agriculture is easily one of the most important and obvious signs of humanity and its adaptation and evolvement over thousands of years.
Establishing an adequate supply of food is historically one of the fundamental challenges facing mankind. The modern food infrastructure employed by contemporary society is rooted in the creation and innovation of food production. Its effective utilization decreases the level of societal labor contribution required and discourages food shortage trepidation amongst individuals. It is hard to fathom given the current status of our society massive agricultural-industrial complex that the hunter-gatherer organization of society dominated for more than 99 percent of our existence (Fagan 2007: 126). The hunter-gatherer population was characterized by their primary subsistence method, which involved the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild. The primary methods employed were foraging and hunting, which were conducted without any significant recourse to the domestication of either food source (Fagan 2007: 129). Food production is presumed to have emerged approximately 12,000 years ago as a system of “deliberate cultivation of cereal grasses, edible root plants, and animal domestication” (Fagan 2007: 126). The pronounced change from hunting and gathering to agriculture and domestication can be simplistically designated the Agricultural or Neolithic Revolution (Pringle 1998). The catalytic developments of the Neolithic Revolution mark a major turning point in the history of humankind. The resulting animal and plant domestication established the foundation on which modern civilization was built.