Question

What factors explain the timing of the agricultural transition (neolithic)? What consequences did the agricultural transition have for inequality, health, and long-run economic development?

Answer 1

The first agricultural revolution or Neolithic revolution was the transition from the lifestyle of hunting and gathering to a transition to settled life and agriculture .The factors that forced people to take up agriculture are -dry climate which made people move to the oasis where theydomesticated animals and planted seeds.This is the Oasis theory. The hilly theory suggest that agriculture grew in the hilly areas where climate was not dry and the availability of fertile land led to growing of africulture and domestication of animals. In order to exert power and domonance , giving feasts was common which required more food and led to the development of agriculture.The demographic theories suggest that sedentary population required more food than that which can be gathered and thus led to the growth of agriculture.The megafauna extinction that followed the ending of the glacial period , led to the development of agriculture for people to survive. This development coincided with the end of the last ice age and beginning of the Holocene which is ageological epoch.

The agricultural transition had a lot of consequences beginning with inequality in the society due to the increased dependence of man on agriculture and also due to the fear of scarcity.Health suffered as there was decline in nutrition. Again people got infected to infectious diseases from the animals which they domesticated.But the new period also led to long run economic development which was characterized by the growth of modern scieties with large population centers ,technological improvement, development of art and trade,development of knowledge , etc.