17th Annual Student Research Conference
Social Science
Problems With Agriculture: The Great Transition and Its Effects Examined
Joe B. Parvin
Dr. Amber Johnson, Faculty Mentor
In recent years, many new facts have come to light that tell us a great deal about the lives of our pre-agricultural ancestors. These facts have caused scholars to re-evaluate the preconcieved notions of the past. In particular, the way scholars view the agricultural revolution has been changed. Correlating three factors, bio-archeology, demographic trends in human populations, and disease proliferation, one can see that the development of agriculture has had adverse effects on human civilization. Here I analyze these effects to illustrate the ramifications of agricultural development. Humans, being initially negativly affected by the spread of agriculture, were not likely to have adopted such a practice out of desire for a sedentary lifestyle. Rather, agriculture must have been forced upon them. Since no wirtten records exist from our pre-agricultural ancestors, my conclusions are drawn from the archeological record, and observable trends in more recent history.
Keywords: Agriculture, Disease, bio-archeology
Topic(s):Sociology/Anthropology
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 38-3
Location: VH 1232
Time: 2:45