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Was the transition from hunting and gathering to farming actually good for human well-being? Wyman examines the archaeological evidence that early farmers were shorter, sicker, and worked harder than the hunter-gatherers they replaced.
This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.
Canon
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Wyman argues agriculture was a hedonic treadmill: farming produced more calories per acre but worse nutrition per person. Population growth quickly consumed the surplus, making return to foraging impossible because there were now too many mouths to feed.
Highlights
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Skeletal evidence shows early farmers were shorter and sicker than hunter-gatherers
Archaeological skeletal data consistently shows that early farming populations had shorter stature, more nutritional deficiencies, more dental disease, and more infectious disease than contemporary or preceding hunter-gatherers.Was this useful?