pantodragon Posted March 2, 2013 #1 Share Posted March 2, 2013 The move from hunter-gatherer to farmer is considered to be a major mile-stone in the advancement of human civilisation. Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is that humans turned from hunting and gathering to farming because farming was a means of exerting control over their environment. So, far from indicating progress, the development of farming is one of the early signs that humans had become addicted to power. (One manifestation of this addiction is that human society is extremely competitive.) If one picks up this thread i.e. addiction to power, one can follow its development in farming from the earliest farming practices to the present day. So, to get their power fix, humans exercised more and more control of the environment; this exercise of power manifesting itself today in environmentalism (e.g. “managing” wilderness areas) and genetics (e.g. GM crops). In reality, the development of farming is actually an indicator of the degenration of human society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ealdwita Posted March 2, 2013 #2 Share Posted March 2, 2013 In reality, the development of farming is actually an indicator of the degenration of human society. I respectfully submit that it's the direct opposite! In my view, farming came about as a way of dealing with an ever-growing world population which couldn't be sustained by hunter-gathering. Gradually, by trial and error, prehistoric man began to cultivate grasses and tubers in fixed areas which eliminated much of the nomadic way of life necessitated by having to follow herds of animal prey. This in turn, freed up some of the 'tribe' from domestic work, allowing them time to develop pottery, weaving and toolmaking, eventually culminating in writing and metalworking etc. Even today, Nomadic, hunter-gatherer people such as the San bushmen of the Kalahari desert, who utilise plants for food but have no formal agriculture, will, after digging up a tuber (for example), replace a part in the ground - so that the plant will grow again for the next time that they or another person passes that place. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andami Posted March 2, 2013 #3 Share Posted March 2, 2013 (edited) To answer the thread's original question; to brew beer. Edited March 2, 2013 by Andami 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Merton Posted March 2, 2013 #4 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Agriculture represents an obvious advance in human history. Still, the comment that it also was a degradation in society may be true. Hunter-gatherer societies are happier and overall healthier and don't have to work so hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiloh17 Posted March 3, 2013 #5 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Planting corn was probably a little safer than hunting things with fangs, horns and bad attitudes. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantodragon Posted March 4, 2013 Author #6 Share Posted March 4, 2013 You have all obviously bought into the orthodox story of the ascent of man which starts from those in power telling us we've never had it so good and then having history written in such a way as to prove their point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bavarian Raven Posted March 4, 2013 #7 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Hunter-gatherer societies are happier and overall healthier and don't have to work so hard. Till they starve... and starvation is always a threat for a hunter-gatherer society. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantodragon Posted March 4, 2013 Author #8 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Till they starve... and starvation is always a threat for a hunter-gatherer society. You've spotted the famines in Africa, have you? In the UK, in earlier times, peasant farmers used to keep an area of land uncultivated and free to grow wild foods to ward off starvation when the cultivated crops failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Merton Posted March 4, 2013 #9 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Till they starve... and starvation is always a threat for a hunter-gatherer society. Ah yes, precisely. The existence doesn't have the dependability of agriculture (although I think a lot of farmers might doubt that). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bavarian Raven Posted March 4, 2013 #10 Share Posted March 4, 2013 You've spotted the famines in Africa, have you? That's because in many regions, the "knowledgable" farmers were kicked off the land and the remaining land was redistributed to people who really didnt know how to farm. Or, in other cases, they simply lack the infrustructure and good land. Nothing to do with farming itself. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ealdwita Posted March 4, 2013 #11 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Addicted to power or not.... .anybody I catch 'hunting' or 'gathering' on my farmland will either get the contents of both barrels of a Remington 11-87 Premier whistling around their ears or two large Labrador retrievers hanging off their goolies! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantodragon Posted March 7, 2013 Author #12 Share Posted March 7, 2013 That's because in many regions, the "knowledgable" farmers were kicked off the land and the remaining land was redistributed to people who really didnt know how to farm. Or, in other cases, they simply lack the infrustructure and good land. Nothing to do with farming itself. Read the next comment down from yours by ealdwita. This is the attraction of farming. It plays into the hands of people who are addicted to power. So, yes, the whole system gets mucked up and famines happen for less straight forward reasons than simply crop failure. But all this still means that hunter gatherers were less vulnerable than farmers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aztek Posted March 7, 2013 #13 Share Posted March 7, 2013 they just got sick of going all over the forest and collect edable plants, some smart dude back than figured it will be easier, and faster, if edable plants were in one place. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Render Posted March 8, 2013 #14 Share Posted March 8, 2013 You can speculate all you want, but to imply that humans made a conscious decision for power by farming is ridiculous. Hindsight is always 20/20 eh. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma_Acid Posted March 8, 2013 #15 Share Posted March 8, 2013 The 'hunter gatherer' lifestyle doesn't support large populations. It can't. Populations will always grow as a general rule (bar war and disease), and farming came out of a necessity to feed. It has nothing to do with "power". Oh sorry, that's just me being brain washed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ealdwita Posted March 8, 2013 #16 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Read the next comment down from yours by ealdwita. This is the attraction of farming. It plays into the hands of people who are addicted to power. So, yes, the whole system gets mucked up and famines happen for less straight forward reasons than simply crop failure. But all this still means that hunter gatherers were less vulnerable than farmers. So if I owned a shop, then it would be OK for people to come and help themselves from the shelves, yes? Or is it only us farmers who are being selfish by running a business for profit? Where's this 'power' thing coming from? Maybe I'm thick, but I just can't get my head round it. Have you been upset by a farmer in the past, or has his bull chased you about a bit? The only other explanation I can think of is that you're one of those detestable, yellow-waterproofed 'Ramblers' who are under the impression that the whole country is yours to trample over at will, irrespective of its ownership. I suspect a 'La propriété, c'est le vol' undercurrent at work here. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrimsonKing Posted March 8, 2013 #17 Share Posted March 8, 2013 It is actually best to have a good knowledge of both hunting and farming,as neither for survival purposes has anything to do with greed. Having knowledge of both makes one far more adaptable to changing conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantodragon Posted March 14, 2013 Author #18 Share Posted March 14, 2013 So if I owned a shop, then it would be OK for people to come and help themselves from the shelves, yes? Or is it only us farmers who are being selfish by running a business for profit? Where's this 'power' thing coming from? Maybe I'm thick, but I just can't get my head round it. Have you been upset by a farmer in the past, or has his bull chased you about a bit? The issue is power, but it is beyond the scope of this comment to elucidate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhen Posted March 14, 2013 #19 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Why did humans become farmers? Simple, to have a stable source of beer! Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now