Why did humanity switch from hunter-gathering to farming?

[Berniewood Hogan]

I'm no expert on the subject, but from what I've read civilizations would resort to agriculture when it was easier or more reliable than hunting. Necessity is the mother of innovation, as they say. I do believe this accounts for the advancement of certain early civilizations relative to others. If you're trying to survive in the sand dunes of Egypt for example, you'd better get real creative, real quick.

I'M PRETTY SURE ALL THE OLDEST CIVILIZATIONS STARTED BY RIVERS, BROTHER! FISHING AND IRRIGATION PROBABLY CAUSED PEOPLE TO STICK TO ONE AREA, DUDE!

 

[MarcMan]

I'M PRETTY SURE ALL THE OLDEST CIVILIZATIONS STARTED BY RIVERS, BROTHER! FISHING AND IRRIGATION PROBABLY CAUSED PEOPLE TO STICK TO ONE AREA, DUDE!

That's true. I do think there was a confluence of factors that contributed to each civilization's development. I do think people just chose the easiest path at their region at their point in time.

 

[Mr.Big Meat McGee]

Personally I thinking a combination of Farming and Gathering would be ideal to survive in early civilizations.

 

[Ghost Utmost]

Interesting to wonder

Hunter-gathering is actually quite an efficient way of leading one's life. They typically need to "work" only three-five hours per day in order to provide for themselves and their kin.

This is the answer.

Population pressure.

Agriculture supports like 100x more people per square mile.

Industrialization is the next level. Like 1000000x more people per square mile.

As the population grows the methods of stacking more people will become more complex. TV and Internet is a way of keeping people inside in places like NYC where there's physically too many people to all go outside at once (hence.. the city never sleeps. Three shifts of people coming outside).

 

[Spatial Paradox]

Humans aren't made to compete with animals. Sometimes hunting and gathering meant following prey for hrs or miles until it became exhausted.

Also farming allowed for family. No need to worry about your kid in the field with u while u hunt.

I see what you're getting at, but I don't think the bolded can be the case. We've been around as a species for almost 200,000 years, but agriculture arose only about 10,000 years ago. For 95% of the time we've been around, agriculture didn't exist and yet we managed to spread to every corner of the planet that's not Antarctica. I'd say any species that's been around for that long and spread so far and wide from its origins has to be pretty damn competitive, with or without agriculture.

 

[NBA Youngbreh]

Im taking a cultural anthropology class and most of the people in this thread are wrong excluding OP and a few others
If you brehs actually want to learn i suggest watching the documentary Nǃai, the Story of a ǃKung Woman to see how well hunter gatherers lived
I would post more bout this topic but its for me

 

[NBA Youngbreh]

This is the answer.

Population pressure.

Agriculture supports like 100x more people per square mile.

Industrialization is the next level. Like 1000000x more people per square mile.

As the population grows the methods of stacking more people will become more complex. TV and Internet is a way of keeping people inside in places like NYC where there's physically too many people to all go outside at once (hence.. the city never sleeps. Three shifts of people coming outside).

This is correct /thread