The earliest modern humans were hunter-gatherers, and any study of human evolution or human history is incomplete without a thorough survey of how these early humans lived. Hunting is considered the most successful environmental acclimatization accomplished by man, and evolutionary scientists have come to regard behavioral as well as anatomical and physiological modifications as important factors in the study of evolution as it pertains to all species.
Until the onset of the agricultural revolution, approximately 12,000 years ago, humans were hunter-gatherers. They were dispersed across the globe, and various bands developed tools and practices unique to their environments. The spread of agriculture saw much of the habitable land occupied by farming and herding, particularly fertile land close to accessible water sources. These early agriculturalists developed complex social structures far different than the largely egalitarian nature of hunter-gatherer bands. The strength of these social systems and their control of the land forced the hunter-gatherers into far less habitable environments. …show more content…
It is for this reason that a study of most modern hunter-gatherers does not necessarily provide an accurate picture of the lives of the earliest hunter-gatherers. The majority of hunter-gatherers today exist in a manner that has been described as a persistent struggle for survival, while early hunter-gatherers had free reign of lush environments unobstructed by the advent of more modern means of production. It has been theorized that a study of hunter-gatherers living in robust environments would lead to more genuine insights on the ecological circumstances of our early
Until the onset of the agricultural revolution, approximately 12,000 years ago, humans were hunter-gatherers. They were dispersed across the globe, and various bands developed tools and practices unique to their environments. The spread of agriculture saw much of the habitable land occupied by farming and herding, particularly fertile land close to accessible water sources. These early agriculturalists developed complex social structures far different than the largely egalitarian nature of hunter-gatherer bands. The strength of these social systems and their control of the land forced the hunter-gatherers into far less habitable environments. …show more content…
It is for this reason that a study of most modern hunter-gatherers does not necessarily provide an accurate picture of the lives of the earliest hunter-gatherers. The majority of hunter-gatherers today exist in a manner that has been described as a persistent struggle for survival, while early hunter-gatherers had free reign of lush environments unobstructed by the advent of more modern means of production. It has been theorized that a study of hunter-gatherers living in robust environments would lead to more genuine insights on the ecological circumstances of our early