Artificial Selection & Rise of Human Race

Before farming, human life revolved around hunting wild animals and gathering wild plants. When these resources ran out, which happened often, people had to move to new areas in search of food. This nomadic lifestyle was the norm for thousands of years.

Hunter-gatherers relied on the natural availability of plants and animals. When their food sources were exhausted, they moved to new areas. Sometimes, they had a successful hunt and had more food than they could consume. Other times, they faced uncertainty about when they would find their next meal. Famine was a constant threat.

Life was tough for these early humans. They had to spend a significant amount of their daily time and energy on finding food. They also had to spread out over large areas because each location could only support a small number of people. For example, a tribe of 100 hunter-gatherers would need 50 to 500 square kilometers to survive.

Historians estimate that around 10,000 years ago, the world population was about six to ten million. Without agriculture, Earth could only support around 10 million people.

Around 15,000-20,000 years ago, humans began to farm. This was a game-changer. Farming meant that people no longer needed to wander in search of food. Instead, they could grow crops and raise animals on nearby land. This led to the development of settled communities.

With farming, humans realized they could select and breed plants and animals with desirable traits. This marked the beginning of the domestication of plants and animals. They became picky about what seeds they planted and which animals they raised. Over time, they developed better crops and more docile animals.

The advent of farming had several profound effects on human society:

• Stable Food Supply: Farming allowed people to produce more food than they needed for immediate consumption. This surplus meant they could store food for future use, reducing the constant threat of famine.
• Settled Communities: With a stable food supply, people no longer needed to move around. They began to build permanent structures and develop villages, towns, and eventually cities.
• Population Growth: The ability to control food production led to population growth. For the first time in human history, there was enough food to sustain larger populations. This led to population booms and the development of sizable cities.
• Social Development: With more people living in settled communities, there was more time and opportunity for social, cultural, and technological development. People could specialize in different trades and crafts, leading to advancements in various fields.

Natural selection is the process by which organisms adapt to their environment. Only the fittest individuals survive and reproduce, passing on favorable traits to the next generation. In contrast, artificial selection, or domestication, is when humans select individuals with desirable traits to reproduce. This way, humans gradually improved plants and animals to better serve their needs.

For example, through artificial selection, humans have developed more visually appealing roses, more productive cows, and sheep that provide more milk and wool. Charles Darwin used artificial selection as an example in his book “On the Origin of Species.”

The shift from a nomadic to a sedentary lifestyle was a crucial step in human history. Farming allowed people to produce enough food to stay in one place. This led to the development of permanent structures, villages, towns, and eventually cities.

With settled societies came population growth. The ability to control food production meant that, for the first time, there was a surplus of food. This surplus, along with lower rates of fatal injuries common in nomadic societies, led to population booms. Small settlements grew into sizable cities.

In summary, the development of agriculture was a turning point in human history. It allowed humans to settle in one place, produce surplus food, and build complex societies. This laid the foundation for the rise of human civilization, leading to the world we know today.

#HumanEvolution, #AgricultureHistory, #EarlyCivilizations