How might the development of farming have led to civilzation?

Question

How might the development of farming have led to civilzation?

Answer 1

What has been said is true but I think that the underlying point is that trade began.  It caused people from different areas to get to know one another and that caused an exchange of ideas.  Products became more artistic in order to be of greater value for trade which caused a study of art to occur. Systems such as accounting began creating a need for a numbering system.  Communication was enhanced as more words from different groups came into being.  Also people had more free time to ponder questions and find solutions.

Answer 2

this is ashleysam96. i think the development of farming led to civilzation by... when all the people was looking for rich soil for their crops they would find a good place to plant them. then after other people found out they all came. thats how i think the development of farming led to civilzation!!

Answer 3

People no longer had to hunt to find food, therefore they stayed in one place, they built stable homes and began to invent things other than weapons. Eventually this led to leaders/governments etc.

Answer 4

With farming, people were able to produce larger quantities of food.  In addition to plants, people produced enough food to domesticate animals as well.  People were able to feed many more people with less effort than finding wild plants and hunting.

Since people were not focusing all of their attention on hunting and gathering, those who were the best at farming farmed, and other people were freed up to invent things, produce pottery, make steel, build more elaborate housing structures, etc (specialization).  People traded labor and goods for food, and as their settlements got bigger, they would need more resources, more people to specialize.   They could begin trading, expanding, and focusing their efforts on endeavors other than food production.  

Read "Guns Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond.  (Or if you search it on youtube, you can watch the video).  Groups involved in agriculture had to create settlements and stay in relatively the same place to raise their crops.  This switch to sedentary settlements was a key point in establishing civilization.

Answer 5

The advent of farming caused a rapid increase in the population, with people tied to the land where they farmed, so there was a higher population density than had ever existed before. People had to develop systems of organization in order to get along and continue to be productive. Those who didn't learn to do this successfully died out. Those who were successful flourished. While farmers  had far LESS free time than hunter-gatherers, they now had advantages to using that time, because they could build permanent structures, and accumulate large quantities of goods that they no longer had to carry with them nomadically, as before. Communal labor all working towards a common goal added up to increasingly complex and developed bodies of knowledge, art, architecture, philosophy, music, technology, and government.

Answer 6

Many anthropologists would say that farming IS civilization.  

In any event agriculture brings the group out of its hunter-gatherer existence into a system that is necessarily tied to one place.  Eventually, and especially if the agriculture is successful enough to raise the group above subsistence level, the individuals develop free time and then division of labor.  

Once you get those two features, cultural development has reached the point of no return.  Currency, government, often reading and writing, and the remaining features of a civilization occur essentially spontaneously.

Answer 7

The first people lived as hunter gatherers. This means they collected plants from the wild. Most people that lived this way, knew the land well. Depending on the season, then knew where and when to collect food from certain areas.Many hunter gathers are know to leave the 'best" plants behind. This allows the crop to be there again

As the population grew, being able to hunt and gather wasn't possible. There were too many people and not enough natural resources. People probably settled were the plants were common and started to cultivate them in a more systematic manner.

One agriculture started. the people became settled. They needed to build storage areas to protect the food crops, houses to live in and needed develop ways to function in larger groups.

While agriculture lead to settlements and civilization, it was extremely hard on the people. Grinding grain on stone leaves rock dust in the food. This wears the teeth out. Cavities abound. Children's boners often show malnutrition. Diseases such as Tuberculosis, yaws, osteroarthritis and syphilis appear.

Dependence on crops can be dangerous. It's estimated that some 50% of the calories consumed by the worlds population is from wheat, rice and corn. The potential disaster is shown by the Irish potato famine in the 19th century killed over a million people.