The Negative Impacts Of The Neolithic Society

Around 10,000 BP the tools that the hunter-gatherers once used for gathering seeds and scraping meat were starting to be used to grind the domesticated grains that the Neolithic society started harvesting. Wild gazelles, goats, and sheep that once roamed in the wild were starting to be domesticated for human exploitation . This transition from hunting and gathering to the practice of agriculture is known as the Neolithic revolution and is also known as the agricultural revolution. The Neolithic Revolution is among some of the most important revolutions in human history. Though the agricultural revolution produced useful inventions that the human population still uses to this day, it also came with consequences such as the spread of disease, poor nutrition, an unfair social structure, and environmental abuse among the Neolithic society.

Before the Neolithic era our hunter-gatherer ancestors relied on a nomadic life style, but around 12,000-8,000 BP changes to this life style were made.

People were starting to settle down, but the closer proximities and exploitation of domesticated animals lead to disease among the Neolithic society. The settlement lifestyle may have seemed ideal and beneficial at first in the early Neolithic era, there was a surplus of grains that were easy to store, and it was easier for mothers to bear children because they could wean their child off of breast-feeding and onto domesticated milk. This lead to large growth in population. Consequently, where there is growth in population, there is a growth in disease. The living spaces were cramped which allowed for bacteria and viruses to spread disease. Also, domesticated animals are reservoirs for human disease, containing parasites, viruses, and bacteria that close quarter societies cannot get away

from.
The widespread of disease during the agricultural revolution could also be blamed by the poor nutrition that was embraced by the Neolithic society. The poor nutrition accompanied more than just disease, it led to weak body structure and malnutrition. Though the people of the Neolithic revolution often had a surplus of food, they still had a not-so-balanced diet of mainly carbohydrates, while the hunter-gatherer’s had a variety to their diet that consisted of meat, fish, and nuts to create a good balance. Evidence shows that the early agriculturist had weaker bones, smaller stature, and tooth wear compared to the hunter-gatherer society . Also, infant health is also threatened because they may not be weaned properly which can cause malnutrition. This indicates that the early agriculturist had to work a lot harder for their food than the hunter-gatherers which led to the poorness of their joints and bone weakness.
Furthermore, the poor choice of diet of the early agriculturalist led to the risk of famine as well because of their risky dependence on plant domestication. Arguably these crops did supply most of their needs, but there was still a large risk for losing their only source of calories to conditions that they cannot control such as drought, pests, and weather complications. If any of these events were to happen, the outcome would be starvation of the whole population. An example of this is what happened to Ireland when the potato famine occurred in 1840, wiping out a large portion of their population.
On the other side of agriculture the revolution allowed for craftsmanship to evolve, opening the door for economics and for social classes to form. The emergence of agriculture gave people more time to become more in tune with subjects other than the full time aspect of hunting and gathering. People were starting to develop interests in art, music, medicine, and religion. Trade began to flourish, creating an economic structure which lead to the creation of social classes, and the distribution of wealth. This gave rise to social, and economic inequality which created conflict between the different social classes. The poor would have little access to resources and often made attempts to gain them from the wealthy. As this went on, aggression formed, and territoriality started taking place where war began to threaten these societies. Although the emergence of economic classes from this brought humanity to where it is today, it had a detrimental effect on the Neolithic society and brought turmoil between the people.
Also, detrimental effects were not just on the people of the Neolithic era, it was also on the environment and the land that was being farmed on. The once plentiful land was farmed to exhaustion, deforested, and there was a loss of soil. The environmental abuse from the Neolithic revolution still has an effect to this day. A good example would be how the irrigation waters used by early farmers in the Tigris-Euphrates valley carried high levels of soluble salts, which poisoned the soil and made it completely unusable even to this day. Forests were often cleared to create more room for the growth of crops. If the land was farmed to exhaustion, the site would just end up being abandoned and rendered useless to the agriculturalists.
The Neolithic revolution is arguably one of the most impacting revolutions that lead the world to how it is today. Though it brought a variety of crops, the concept of settling, economics, and craftsmanship to the world, it also brought a wide range of disease that our hunter-gatherer ancestors have never had a problems with before. The Neolithic brought the risk of famine and malnutrition. War, conflict, and aggression to the once close societies were introduced because of the want for resources, and it is has also permanently destroyed some of the environment due to the needs of human consumption.