Why did hunter-gatherer societies switch to sedentary agriculture? The reason is because sedentary agriculture was the easiest way for them so get food. Sedentary agriculture can be more productive and even less dangerous than hunting. It is much easier to raise a bunch of sheep, or any other animal, and let them bread and domesticate them, so that whenever you need food you have it right there. This means that you would not have to go out and hunt and search for food. This definitely was the easiest lifestyle for those people and it also let them spend more time planting fruits and vegetables. The Hadza people were hunter gatherers but yet 80 percent of their diet was fruits and vegetables. They did a good job of domesticating their own animals so that they could spend more time plant foods.
Why some societies are more industrially advanced than others? The reason for this was because each part of the world has their own resources. China was the richest country in the 16th and 17th Century mostly because they had the resources to produce silk, spices, and other luxuries. This then gave them ability to trade with other countries that did not have the resources to produce these items. The Spanish and Portuguese would mine and funnel gold and silver over to China in exchange for silk and spices. Later on, England then used their resources to find easier ways to produce cloth. They created the factory system by bringing in spinners, weavers, and others together in one place to make the cloth. This was a more efficient way of making cloth and let them produce enough to trade. So all in all the reason that some places are more advanced is because every place has their own unique resources and it was all about how people used them and learned to benefit from them
Why do poor countries not modernize and develop in the same way as wealthier countries? It is very hard to modernize and develop a country that does not have many resources. In many poor countries people started to stop farming and become laborers. This is not because they would make more money by being a laborer but because they no longer had the land to farm. This was bad because since the people would work all day and stopped farming they could no longer become more advanced in agriculture because they were too busy working for other people. This shows that resources you have around you play a huge role in life. If you have very rich land and a wet climate, you can farm and produce food year round. But if you have a very dry climate, you cannot farm and you must find another way to get or produce food.
How do modern standards of health and medical treatment compare with those of traditional societies? Over the past two centuries, we have enhanced our medical treatment a great amount. The antibiotics that we have today saves millions of people every year. We now have the technology to help us understand diseases and also treat them. The average life expectancy in the 1900’s was around 30 years and in the 2000’s it has jumped up to around 63 years. This is a major jump and is all because of our new technology. Back in the 16th and 17th century, they never had the chance to truly understand diseases enough to treat them. They just had to test new theories and see if they worked or not. Over time, they would get a good understanding of diseases because they tested so many different ways to treat it. Today if there is a new disease doctors can usually figure out what is wrong within a couple days. It is remarkable how much technology has evolved the world.
Why are simpler societies disappearing? With the world evolving so much because of technology, it would make no sense for people to live the same way their ancestors did thousands of years ago. Technology can make life a lot easier and can give you more time to do more things like farm or work. Another reason is because life changes in very dramatic and unexpected ways that people have never seen before. Now that we have technology, we use it to help us solve these changes. This then shows others that technology is a very good asset in life to have. Why would people not want technology? It can help predict very important things in life like weather. It is a huge asset, which is the reason that simple societies decide to evolve and use it.