Why we should have stayed hunter gatherers

[Shurikens and Lightning]

I did not believe this until my history teacher showed this to us but I believe y'all might think this makes sense also.

http://www.environnement.ens.fr/perso/claessen/agriculture/mistake_jared_diamond.pdf

For those of you who hate reading this is a brief explanation:

Hunter gatherers get elss diseases since e. coli in one nut is better than e. coli in a whole field. we get less variety but get more quantity. A tribe of hunter gatherers(yeah they exist) today has less diseases and more free time than you think. Basically farming is quantity over quality.

The only thing I have to say is without farming we would not have the free time to explore the liberal arts and build society. Other than that this article is really articulate and controversial. What do you all make of this?

Oh and the search revealed the link on a post on a thread that was several months ago that was sort of off topic. so im counting this as search approved!

 

[I Stomp on Kittens]

Hmmmm that makes sence..I never really thought of that.

 

[Ganthrinor]

The really funny part about modern agriculture is that the majority of the world's population gets thier food from several specific "Bread Basket" locations around the world that are all suseptible to various natural disasters including but not limited to Fire, Flood, Toxins, Tornados and Earthquakes.

 

[lasherman]

well, one downside to the hunter-gatherer way of life nowadays is that if everyone switched back, most of us would starve to death. EDIT: or be eaten by other hunters.

 

[Destal]

I highly doubt we would have any of the comforts we enjoy today if people hadn't gained the ability to stay in one location and develop. No cars, computers, internet, phone, television, etc...

They may have had free time, but it was the collaberation of large groups of people that allowed the advancement of the technologies we enjoy so much today.

Although, I bet if we had stayed hunter/gatherer a lot of the anarchists on the website would be happy I'm sure.

 

[herio]

then there are others who think were were happier in tress

 

[Dogstile]

well, one downside to the hunter-gatherer way of life nowadays is that if everyone switched back, most of us would starve to death.

Hunter-gatherer

i would eat YOU

 

[Shurikens and Lightning]

well, one downside to the hunter-gatherer way of life nowadays is that if everyone switched back, most of us would starve to death.

The weak die.

 

[manaman]

Although, I bet if we had stayed hunter/gatherer a lot of the anarchists on the website would be happy I'm sure.

Don't forget the environmentalists, but then they would be complaining about the trees not growing cause their acorns are all being eaten or something.

You would have to be a special kind of fool not to recognize that there are only some small part of a large list of pro's and con's being weighed there, and that society is much better off.

well, one downside to the hunter-gatherer way of life nowadays is that if everyone switched back, most of us would starve to death.

The weak die.

No offense here, reading between the lines a bit. You are probably thinking that you would not be one of the "weak" that would die, but know what? You would be. Fact is you are part of the world that is rich enough to enjoy creature comforts. Evidenced by the fact that you have a computer and an internet connection.

Hell I don't even thing I could survive for long on my own. They only times I have had to survive I had a lot of kit with me, and people to help me. So don't go off thinking this is a targeted insult. I just want you to realize that in your arrogance, you would be condemning yourself as well.

 

[userwhoquitthesite]

RIDDEN FROM THE CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVE!

i say run with it, dude

 

[Ayrav]

Its not possible for our society to go back to hunter-gather. Also, raise your hand if you'd like to give up daily showers and the ability to use a toilet.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

If we're losing farming, then we're losing medicine, surgery, anesthesia, dentistry, printing, computers, the internal combustion engine, telephones...oh yes, everything, including the wheel.

But at least we're living...oh no, here come a tiger.

 

[tsolless]

Considering that farming was really the entire reason that the human race started booming and it's population went through the roof, leading to civilizations, leading to better tools, leading to more and more and more, I can't say that I agree.

 

[Bobbovski]

Like Destal said... we wouldn't have progressed this far without having us all leave the hunter-gatherer life style behind... And I think the arguments that there would have been no wars or tyranny are untrue. People bully each other and try to establish a social order... that's what we do, just like many other social animals in nature. And when the space would have become limited (It would have taken a long time, but it would have happened), the different tribers would have had to compete against each other for the hunting/gathering grounds.

 

[Shurikens and Lightning]

The weak die.

No offense here, reading between the lines a bit. You are probably thinking that you would not be one of the "weak" that would die, but know what? You would be. Fact is you are part of the world that is rich enough to enjoy creature comforts. Evidenced by the fact that you have a computer and an internet connection.

Hell I don't even thing I could survive for long on my own. They only times I have had to survive I had a lot of kit with me, and people to help me. So don't go off thinking this is a targeted insult. I just want you to realize that in your arrogance, you would be condemning yourself as well.

Jeez its just a phrase. That's how nature works, a three legged dear will not outrun the 4 legged. I think its called evolution. And yes I would die

If we're losing farming, then we're losing medicine, surgery, anesthesia, dentistry, printing, computers, the internal combustion engine, telephones...oh yes, everything, including the wheel.

But at least we're living...oh no, here come a tiger.

3 things:
1.I lol'd
2.The wheel can be invented without agriculture. How did they animals in the wild? With their African Fists of Fury!? Technology is not hindered just really slow and more adapted to their situation.
3.If a tiger is in Orlando and it is trying to kill me for finding a berry. god help us all.


I had no clue people thought that by reading this article we all just look at each other and revert back.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

There's also the fact that the human child is possibly one of the weakest creatures for survivability in the wild. It takes us 7 years to become partially proficient in survival, another 7 to become able to procreate and another 7 to become aware of society. Cats can do all that in a year. Even against a monkey, a new born monkey can shiver to keep itself warm, human children simply die. Without the social order that comes from farming, something as simple as smallpox, brought in from our gathering, would have eliminated us.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

2.The wheel can be invented without agriculture.

True, but it wouldn't be. What's the point of having a wheel? Most, if not all inventions in society became widespread through their usage. You certainly wouldn't have had pottery, currency or any of the earlier civilizations. (Even drama wouldn't have existed because there would be no teachers. How can you have teachers when 90% of your day is spent finding food/water/shelter?)

Without tool use, Orlando would be a few wigwams running from bears and bisons.

Looking seriously at this now. If we had a massive disaster that shutdown all electricity, humanity would be nearly dead within a year. We simply don't have the ability to feed ourselves if our food chain was sliced.

 

[MajoraPersona]

As many people have said, we indeed had no choice due to the rising population.

Sadly, humanity has reached the point where there are thousands of thousands of monkeys in rooms with a thousand typewriters, and the nine-hundred and ninety-nine look to the one and say "We're glad we farmed, because we got to have Shakespeare."

However, though I would love to stalk the forests and earn my own food, I'm lazy, overweight, probably sick, and rely on technology. I'd still go for it, I'd just die a pathetic death.

And that's alright.

 

[Shurikens and Lightning]

2.The wheel can be invented without agriculture.

True, but it wouldn't be. What's the point of having a wheel? Most, if not all inventions in society became widespread through their usage. You certainly wouldn't have had pottery, currency or any of the earlier civilizations. (Even drama wouldn't have existed because there would be no teachers. How can you have teachers when 90% of your day is spent finding food/water/shelter?)

Without tool use, Orlando would be a few wigwams running from bears and bisons.

Looking seriously at this now. If we had a massive disaster that shutdown all electricity, humanity would be nearly dead within a year. We simply don't have the ability to feed ourselves if our food chain was sliced.

Im going to assume you read the article due to the articulation your using so your not a nimrod. The African Tribes have loads of free time. They survive... They live like crap but we can survive. Trust me on this when I say that I am not going to become a hunter-gatherer and neither were you but Agriculture brings diseases and terrible infections that are widespread and most people have never heard this side of the argument so I thought I would enlighten them.

 

[Aardvark]

Hunter-gatherers had about 30 years less life expectancy than us.

Bugger that, I'll take a McHeartfucker with a side of health insurance.