One interesting point I came across when researching this topic of the universal change from hunter/gathering to agriculture was, did this change really help the human race at a biological level? This change has long been seen has a huge turning point for the better in human history. It is believed that with this change health and nutrition improved along with the life span of humans and the work load decreases. Although some of that may be true when you closely examine the oral and overall health of humans before and after the change you have to question this logic. This study claims that a decline in overall health is indicated by the prevalence of various dental and skeletal pathological conditions and the alterations in skeletal and dental growth patterns. The study provides that the main reasoning for the decline in health as seen in this aspects is because of the overall mobility decline which allowed the human body to become less robust.
Study:
Larsen, Clark Spencer. “Biological Changes in Human Populations with Agriculture”. Annual Review of Anthropology 24 (1995): 185–213. Web…