The rise of agriculture

– what were the

consequences for
human society?

Advantage

o More food for less work

o Free time – rapid evolution of
culture

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour Maler de Grabkammer des Menna/Wikimedia 1

 The rise of agriculture
– what were the
consequences for
human society?
o The traditional view of agriculture

o Health, longevity, security, leisure, &

great art/cultural benefits

o Initial perception true. But how do

you show that the lives of humans >
12 000 ya were infinitely worse prior
to agriculture?

o Let’s examine the evidence:

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour 2

 The rise of agriculture
– what were the
consequences for
human society?
The progressive view of agriculture

o If agriculture so beneficial, should

have spread like wildfire
o Archaeological evidence from
Europe: barely spread at 1000
m/year
o Another approach: compare
twentieth-century hunter-gatherers
to farmers
o Average work week for a
San/bushman is 12-19 hrs/week–

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour 3

 The rise of agriculture
– what were the
consequences for
human society?
The progressive view of agriculture

San diet

o Diet varied
o 85 species edible plants
o Daily intake: >2000 calories, > 90 g protein
o Daily intake exceeds US RDA
o Farmers/agriculturalists tend to grow high
carbohydrate crops (e.g., rice and potatoes)
o Modern farmers vs early farmers?
o Catastrophic events?

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour 4

 The rise of agriculture
– what were the
consequences for
human society?
The progressive view of agriculture

American Indian population before & after the

advent of agriculture (corn)

Paleopathology and disease

o Cavities went from 1->7
o Tooth loss, abcysses rampant
o Anaemia increased four-fold
o Diseases such as TB & syphilis common
o Osteoarthritis + other degenerative diseases
in 2/3 adult population
o Longevity reduced
o Other studies - similar findings

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour 5

 The rise of agriculture
– what were the
consequences for
human society?
The progressive view of agriculture

To sum, there are three reasons why farming was

bad for health:

1. Diet breadth: H-Gs had a varied diet with

adequate protein, vitamins, minerals, farmers
had narrow diets (starchy crops: cheap
calories at the cost of poor nutrition)
2. Starvation risk
3. Most of today’s infectious diseases &
parasites only established because of the
transition to agriculture

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour 6

 The rise of agriculture
– what were the
consequences for
human society?

The progressive view of agriculture

o They persist in malnourished, sedentary,

crowded societies, especially where
sanitation is poor
o Agriculture and class divisions

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour 7

 The rise of agriculture
– what were the
consequences for
human society?

The progressive view of agriculture

Three reasons agriculture successful:

1. Carrying capacity
2. Reproductive output
3. Agriculturalists outnumbered H-Gs, actively
killed them

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour 8

 Germs: impacts on the rise of human society

Pathogens have killed far more people than guns

Source: healthscopemag.com

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour 9

 Large mammals – rise of germs

Large mammals = > food production = > population density = > disease transmission – animal sources

Image Credit: MP Art/Shutterstock Image: thefieldsofice

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour 10

 Large mammals – rise of germs

Modern germs continue a trend – come from animals

SARS
MERS
Swine flu
COVID-19

Image Credit: MP Art/Shutterstock

Image source: WHO

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour 11

 Rise of germs – some immunity

o Some immunity in haves: process of co-evolution

 humans develop some immunity
 germs evolve to be milder (killing entire population means end of
germ)

o Have-nots in New World do not have such immunity (Americas,

Australia)
 compounded by historical (and continuing) inequality
 germs not equal-opportunity agents

o Africa different story: natives evolved with lots of germs

Image source: WHO

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour 12

Other factors

o Axes of continents
o Centralised governments
o Innovations and science

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour 13

Axes of continents

Diamond 2002 Nature

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour 14

 Other helpful ingredients

o Innovations from economic specialisations

o Science emerges
o Why in Europe more than other places? (many governments)
o Kleptocracy: centralised government (redistributive/taxes)

Result: guns, germs and steel

Image source: thedigitalfront.org

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour 15

 Summary

o Biogeography crucial for rise of guns, germs, and steel, not

race differences
o Large Eurasian landmass and east-west axis crucial factors
o Seeds available for domestication
o Large mammals available for domestication
o Guns conquer, but germs have killed more people

BIOL1320 Biological Basis of Behaviour 16

 Reflections: Guns, germs, steel, large mammals

o Guns: kill, soak up resources ~$1.82 trillion in 2018

o Germs: on the rise again Stockholm International
 predictable regular pandemics Peace Research Institute

o Steel: massive ecological cost

 cars, for instance

o Large mammals: 2-fold costs

 also massive ecological cost, in soil, water, energy
 we export water, in our cattle, wool, etc.
 animals source of germs, with their toll on lives and economies

Text: Ken Cheng

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