Southern New Hampshire University
ATH-101 Introduction to Anthropology
Module 3 Overview
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Articulate climate change in its relation to evolution
Reflect on how historical developments for food production impacted modern-day life
Explain the importance of utilizing an anthropological perspective for problem solving in a
specific crisis situation
CONTINUING WITH HUMAN EVOLUTION
Think about some foods that are common in the American diet such as beef, pork, grains and
rice, beans, peppers, cheese, milk, and corn. Where did these foods come from and when were
they domesticated? These foods were domesticated by people thousands of years ago.
Anthropologists have identified that humans began food collecting and food producing during
the Neolithic age, or around 8000 BCE. Dogs were domesticated around 13,000 BCE, and herd
animals such as cattle, sheep, and pigs were domesticated around 7000 BCE.
Several theories exist to explain the reasons humans shifted from hunting and gathering to
agriculture. It is possible that there is not a single cause for the development of agriculture and
that different places each had its own explanation.
Climate Change:2Some anthropologists argue that climate change forced human populations to
seek for more food as climate change brought about the extinction of big game animals. This
forced humans to search for other types of food.
Change in Population Size:2Cohen (1977) argues that the increased human population forced
other means of producing food, as there were more people to feed in a limited amount of space.
Hunter-gathers work significantly shorter amounts of time in comparison to agriculturists. For
example, the !Kung San in the Kalahari Desert work only 20 hours a week to provide all the food
needed to sustain their families. A pressing need to feed an increasing number of people
compelled groups to abandon a hunter-gatherer lifestyle (Feder, 2010).
Accident:2Others contend that the shift from agriculture was an accident. Humans changed the
environment they lived in by returning to the same place to collect food seasonally, killing or
weeding out economically useless species, moving plants or animals out of areas of natural
habitats, and clearing out vegetation for villages (Feder, 2010). People unintentionally created
better living conditions for productive species to thrive in altered environments (Feder, 2010).
Cultural Evolution:2This theory suggests that, as humans learned about the wild plants and
animals they depended on, they discovered ways to “increase the reliability, productivity, and
usefulness” through selective breeding (Feder, 2010, p. 350). This theory also suggests that
agriculture is an inevitable outcome as populations increase their familiarity with wild plants and
animals for which they depend on (Feder, 2010).
It is interesting to note that while human populations produced more food to sustain a growing
population, health decreased. Increased population led to higher occurrences of infectious
diseases, to higher mortality rates at younger ages, and to significantly lower levels of health in
general (Larsen, 1995). These changes did not occur just because of diet change or increased
population, but rather because of increased sedentism and decreased living conditions.
As human populations increased, the formation of “states” in terms of political organizations also
emerged. The first state evolved in Mesopotamia around 3500 BCE. Characteristics of a state
include dense populations, food surplus, social stratification (differing equal access to wealth and
power), specialization of labor, record keeping (to keep track of taxes, surpluses, and labor), the
presence of monuments and buildings (temples, pyramids), and the presence of art (Feder,
2010).2
REFERENCES
Cohen, M. N. (1977). The food crisis in prehistory: Overpopulation and the origins of
agriculture. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Feder, K. L. (2010). The past in perspective: An introduction to human prehistory (4th ed.).
Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company.
Larsen, C. S. (1995). Biological changes in human populations with agriculture. Annual Review
of Anthropology, 24, 185–213.
