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The Transition to Agriculture: Climate Reversals, Population Density, and Technical Change

Author

Listed:
  • Gregory K. Dow

    (Simon Fraser University)

  • Nancy Olewiler

    (Simon Fraser University)

  • Clyde G. Reed

    (Simon Fraser University)

Abstract

Until about 13,000 years ago all humans obtained their food through hunting and gathering, but thereafter people in some parts of the world began a transition to agriculture. Recent data strongly implicate climate change as the driving force behind the agricultural transition in southwest Asia. We propose a model of this process in which population and technology respond endogenously to climate. The key idea is that after a lengthy period of favorable environmental conditions during which regional population grew significantly, an abrupt climate reversal forced people to take refuge at a few ecologically favored sites. The resulting spike in local population density reduced the marginal product of labor in foraging and made agriculture attractive. Once agriculture was initiated, rapid technological progress through artificial selection on plant characteristics led to domesticated varieties. Farming became a permanent part of the regional economy when this productivity growth was combined with climate recovery

Suggested Citation

  • Gregory K. Dow & Nancy Olewiler & Clyde G. Reed, 2005. "The Transition to Agriculture: Climate Reversals, Population Density, and Technical Change," Economic History 0509003, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpeh:0509003
    Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 42. 42 page pdf file including title page, 6 pages of references, and 6 figures
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Smith, Vernon L, 1975. "The Primitive Hunter Culture, Pleistocene Extinction, and the Rise of Agriculture," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 83(4), pages 727-755, August.
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    5. Jacob L. Weisdorf, 2005. "From Foraging To Farming: Explaining The Neolithic Revolution," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(4), pages 561-586, September.
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    12. Locay, Luis, 1989. "From Hunting and Gathering to Agriculture," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(4), pages 737-756, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gregory Dow & Clyde Reed & Nancy Olewiler, 2009. "Climate reversals and the transition to agriculture," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 27-53, March.
    2. Matthew Baker, 2008. "A structural model of the transition to agriculture," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 257-292, December.
    3. Duckett, Dominic & Bjørkhaug, Hilde & Mur, Laura Arnalte & Palmioli, Lucia, 2022. "New ‘old’ risks on the small farm: Iconic species rewilding in Europe," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    origins of agriculture; foraging; hunting and gathering; climate change; population density; technical change; domestication; archaeology; anthropology; economic prehistory;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N - Economic History

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