Part 1: Agriculture or Hunting/Gathering
The benefits of hunter gatherers is, lots of necessary
nutrients found only in meat such as protein.
The benefit of agriculture is, its’ somewhat easy and you
can grow enough to feed an entire community, during a good year.
The disadvantage of hunter gatherers is, lack of game or
animals to hunt, if all a group is eating is meat it would be very easy to end up
taking out your entire food source over a long or short amount of time, given
the size of your population.
The disadvantage of agriculture is issues with our jaw
structure and dental structure as well as a large lack in nutrients which has
been proven to cause deteriorating health and a rise in infectious disease.
There are also, bad crop years where growing is very difficult or impossible
because of weather conditions.
I believe hunter gatherer’s provide a healthier diet, even
though the food source for them is not guaranteed, it contains more nutrients
and a lot less health problems than agriculture poses. It reminds of the saying
that the easiest or fastest way is not always the best. Hunter Gatherer’s not
only get meat from protein, but can also get nutrients from wild plants and
berries as well. Where as in agriculture it is only planted crops, which lack
nutrients found only in meat. Although this is up for debate if anyone cares to
comment I would love input if someone disagrees or agrees and has more to say
to that effect.
I believe earlier human populations may have been pushed by
nature into agriculture because, game became scarce and they could not depend
on fickle wild crops to feed a growing population. I believe natural selection
pressured them unknowingly to find an easier and more efficient way to provide
food for their people. Those who adapted to this new necessity survived and
those who could not handle it died. If you think about it the more humans
taking up space and growing the less room there is for animals not domesticated
and even sometimes then there is little to no land for them. They also could
not have known the potential risks of this diet until later on.
Part 2: Economics and Trade:
There is a direct relationship between the availability of
surplus and the ability to trade. This statement roughly means you can’t trade
what you don’t have. First you must have things of interest before you can hope
to trade for something you are lacking, from someone else.
Two social benefits of trade are building relationships as
well as gaining access to things we are unable to obtain by any other means. By
building relationships I am referring to how we have become close to other
countries such as China, through trade of goods and services, because we have a
long history of trading together it has helped us build a somewhat steady and
trust worthy relationship, which I believe otherwise would have been hard if
not impossible to achieve. An example of gaining things we could not obtain by
other means, there is an exotic fruit known as a Mangosteen, not to be confused
with mangos, which only grows in Tropical areas and cannot be grown here our
only access to it is to have it imported from such places, so without trade we
would not have access to such an interesting fruit. This fruit has been proven
to help dietary function amongst other functions and is made into a popular yet
expensive supplement drink called Xango, I had a relative who was a salesmen
for the company.
The Mangosteen fruit and Xango Juice.
Going along with benefits a negative result could be a bad
relationship being built because one or both sides was not careful with the
object they were bringing to trade or even perhaps lying about what would
actually be traded in the exchange. Another negative result might be one
culture or group being rejected from trade because they only have access to
growing common crops like corn for example, this crop is very well known and
easy to acquire therefore trading it would likely be unsuccessful, making a
group unable to participate well in the social practice of trade.
Agriculture benefited trade development because certain
crops, such as the exotic fruit I mentioned before, can only be found in
certain areas and if you do not live there or have access to that area your
only chance at having some of that crop is to trade. Crops could also be traded
for non-food items such as animal skin for clothing. As agriculture developed
so did trade, because there was something to be gained by both parties. The
more agriculture grew and increased the more crops could be grown and traded
with other groups.
Hello Zoey, you bring up some good points on how hunter gatherers have a healthier diet than agriculture. For my blog I chose agriculture because of the health benefits to the food they can grow. I also feel like agriculture has more control over the quality of the food. But it was interesting seeing things from your perspective.
ReplyDeleteRandy C.
Part 1:
ReplyDeleteLean protein was important but it didn't make up a huge part of the H/G diet. They were good hunters, but it is still a difficult process. They relied heavily on the plant supplies the women gathered, which was still sufficient.
Any other benefits to H/G subsistence patterns? How about a more diverse, adaptable diet? A more active life-style?
It is a common misconception that agriculture is easier than H/G. Hunter-gatherers actually spend less time getting food for themselves and have more leisure time do agriculturalists. The key benefit may have been the ability to have a surplus and to be more sedentary. That may not have been the healthier choice, but humans sometimes make behavior choices not based upon what is healthier for them, don't they?
Good discussion on the costs of agriculture.
Good explanation on why the H/G diet is healthier. You did well to note that the agricultural diet may be more readily available, but that doesn't necessarily translate into more nutritious.
"I believe earlier human populations may have been pushed by nature into agriculture because, game became scarce and they could not depend on fickle wild crops to feed a growing population"
That actually doesn't describe the human environment at that time. Herds were huge and H/G had developed very successful hunting and gathering strategies over millions of years, strategies which were effective and also allowed them to live sustainably in their environment. So why did they make this transition? There must have been some benefit to agriculture, and it could have been (as discussed earlier) the ability to produce surplus or perhaps just to control where your food could be gathered. More control can easily be argued to be advantageous in a world where early humans would have had little control over their environment.
Part 2:
Correct on the first point. You can't trade unless you have a surplus.
Good discussion on the benefits of trade.
Not sure I understand your point on the downsides of trade? You will get cheaters in every system. Can we think of broader, more general costs? How about increased conflict from bringing diverse populations in contact with each other? How about the introduction of poverty by creating situations where some could control more wealth than others? Or the spread of new diseases in populations previously unexposed to them?
Good discussion in the final section, but we can put this more simply. Remember that agriculture allowed for the production of surplus food. Think about the natural progression from food surplus, to trade of the excess food, to the rise of specialization, with some raising food while others develop other skills, such as creating tools, and then those who make food exchange that food with those who make tools. Presto! Trade!
Hi I thought that the part about the juice was very interesting because i have never heard of it! Do you know if it is available in the US? Also, trading something like the fruit could help the trader get something just as valuable or even more valuable which in turn they can again trade for something even better and the cycle continues which is pretty cool in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteYes although it can only be ordered online and is rather pricey, you can find Xango in the U.S. I will warn you a bottle which will last about a month as the supplement is a shot glass a day, is about 40$
Delete