What advantages might farming and herding have over hunting and gathering?

Question

world history question

Answer 1

The same advantage living in front of Central Park has over living in a cave.

Answer 2

Hunting and gathering required constant movement of people to new areas.  The land could support only a small population of people.  Obtaining food for the family required almost 100% of the time of the family members.

Farming and herding allowed people to have permanent homes.  As farming progressed one farmer could produce enough food for many people.  This freed up time for people to pursue other occupations.  This eventually lead to modern civilization as we know it.  It was not an easy road, but a slow and painful progression.

Answer 3

Greater insurance in the first pair than in the second pair. All the two pairs can negatively influence the environment if not properly controlled. Man evolved from the second pair to the first pair to increase food security and the second pair is indispensable as available free land and forest resources diminishes.

Answer 4

LOL.  The population of hunter-gatherers is limited by the carrying capacity of the land.  In lean years, a hunter-gatherer society would have to practice infanticide, or "eldercide."

Agriculture increases the carrying capacity of the land.  Women invented agriculture -- independently in many places at many times -- so they could keep more of their children alive.

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From a previous answer regarding agriculture:

Benefits:

a) It increased the carrying capacity of the land. Hunter-gatherer societies must occasionally "expose" excess children. Growing food allowed a woman to keep more of her children alive.

b) It allowed a society to keep its wise elders, who couldn't hunt or gather for themselves.

c) It allowed some members of society to have more time to specialize -- the toolmakers and clothingmakers could spend more time doing that, instead of hunting for food. They'd trade their goods for food. Yup, agriculture allowed trade to get started!

d) Permanent homes. No need to follow the herds when you can grow your food. Another thing that allowed trade, eh?

Drawbacks:

a) Endemic disease. With fixed, growing populations, diseases became entrenched. Sanitation (disposal of sewage) also became problematic.

b) Decreased nutrition. The foods grown were less nutritious than the hunter/gatherer diet, and so the agricultural people had stunted growth.

c) Land ownership. Oh boy. That's right, after you put in so many hours working on your farm strip, it was NOT okay for someone else to come and harvest it and take away your food.

d) Protection rackets, the beginning of feudal society, slavery. Yup. You paid a portion of your crop to someone who would prevent "bandits" from coming and taking all of it. You could produce more food if you had more hands working your land.

e) Ever-growing large populations needed ever larger amounts of arable land, and some folks didn't mind gathering together to take land from the people who owned it a few miles away, even if that meant killing them. Yes. Large scale WAR.

Answer 5

You don't have to run as fast, or be as accurate with a spear.