Ten thousand years ago, humans made the decision to completely change their way of life. They began to confine animals, pull out weeds, and deliberately plant certain plants with nutritional value. In other words, humans began to farm. The question is: was it for the best? I believe it was better for many reasons, including food production, more advanced tools and weapons, and the immense increase in population, although people who believe foraging was better have some evidence valid arguments. Farming or farming was a major improvement over foraging. A notable difference during this period is that humans began to use more complex tools to implement more advanced agricultural techniques. They also began to domesticate plants and animals, which was one of the main factors in the beginning of agriculture. This was a major turning point for humans around the world. People could now live together in communities, villages, towns, etc. It was very different from the traditional nomadic way of life. Agriculture also allowed the population to grow significantly and birth rates soared. Food, through agriculture, could now be produced with less time and effort. A civilization with agriculture can provide a more assured source of constant food. With communities and people together, people are grouped together, they can learn collectively and also have greater protection from other predators. Perhaps the most important reason why farming is a major improvement over foraging is the possibility of specialization. Specialization is when an individual or group focuses on a craft that will best help their community. An example of this is the profession of shoemaker. Having a wide variety of skills is crucial for a community. (hunter... shelters 6), (Reilly 17) Some people di...... middle of paper ...... y project.com I used this article because it gave me a general idea of the way the foragers lived. It also provided me with information about the nomadic lifestyle. Text 9 - “Jared Diamond, “The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race,” Discover magazine (May 1987) 64-66. This source gave me a lot of information and a good argument for why foraging might be considered better. Text 11-Richard Lee, “What Hunters Do for a Living,” in Man the Hunter, eds. R. B. Lee and I. DeVore (Chicago: Aldine, 1968). This quote gave me a lot of data regarding the schedule followed by hunter-gatherers. Also, it spoke to the amount of free time they had. several very good points on why agriculture is better.