Something went shit down crazy between the cognitive revolution and the agricultural revolution.
Humans as we know it, better known scientifically as Homo Sapiens, Homo (the Genus) i.e. Man and
Sapiens (Smart). We use to operate in a very closed environment with the tribes we founded and the
minimal community we had when we were hunters and gatherers and foragers.
It was difficult to operate in a group that had more than 15 individuals so it seemed impossible to
imagine forming groups beyond hundreds and thousand individuals. But something changed
dramatically. More food was required and required across different times as we grew in population.
This cognitive progress forced the homo sapiens to develop their brain capacity and hunt game
beyond their reach on a daily basis. Soon hunters and gatherers begin to expand their territories to
wider areas looking for bigger and long lasting game.
This lead them to search for something that they can retain for specific periods to feed their families
instead of trying to hunt on a daily basis. Apparently, this is how the agricultural revolution started.
Small villages formed of farmers who cultivated crops on a seasonal basis.
Cultivating crops required them to stay in the same place for longer periods and protect the crops
from predators, trespassers, draughts, floods and endless possibilities. They were forced to perform
tasks they weren’t designed for. Let us reframe that for a second, we went from independent
hunters and gatherers, living at our own will to get domesticated by crops and farming. This endless
cycle brought us to today, where we live in cities but still slave to major production and farming that
we subsequently need to survive. Would this have been any different if we chose hunting over
farming in the agricultural revolution?
Maybe we wouldn’t have been able to form such big colonies if we stayed as foragers and hunters
gatherers. But most things about the modern age aren’t comforting either. Whatever the outcome it
might have brought, one thing is for sure, change is inevitable and thus it’s highly dependent on
humanity and humans as we call people.
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