What are some benefits and drawbacks of the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution?

Question

What are some benefits and drawbacks of the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution?

Answer 1

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.