Did climate change really force early humans to start farming in Western Asia?
In short: Anthropologist Arlene M. Rosen challenges the common theory that cold, dry weather triggered the birth of agriculture. By examining microbotanical evidence, she reveals how ancient foragers actually responded to climate shifts, offering a new perspective on the transition to farming.
Conventional wisdom suggests that cold and dry conditions during the late Pleistocene forced foragers to adopt agriculture. However, Arlene M. Rosen argues that this narrative is unsupported by evidence from the Natufian period. Instead of turning to cultivation during harsh times, these groups demonstrated resilience by maintaining their traditional foraging lifestyles.
Microbotanical data indicates that low-level cultivation and the collection of specific resources, such as wild cereals, only occurred during periods of stable, warm, and wet climates. This suggests that early humans were risk-averse, choosing to experiment with farming only when environmental conditions were favorable rather than as a desperate response to climate-induced scarcity.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Arlene M. Rosen | Climate Change and the Origins of Agriculture in Western Asia
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