Theworstmistakeinthehistoryofthehumanrac.docx
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Theworstmistakeinthehistoryofthehumanrac.docx
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Theworstmistakeinthehistoryofthehumanrac
ByJaredDiamond
Toscienceweowedramaticchangesinoursmugself-image.Astronomytaughtusthatourearthisn'tthecenteroftheuniversebutmerelyoneofbillionsofheavenlybodies.Frombiologywelearnedthatweweren'tspeciallycreatedbyGodbutevolvedalongwithmillionsofotherspecies.Nowarchaeologyisdemolishinganothersacredbelief:
thathumanhistoryoverthepastmillionyearshasbeenalongtaleofprogress.Inparticular,recentdiscoveriessuggestthattheadoptionofagriculture,supposedlyourmostdecisivesteptowardabetterlife,wasinmanywaysacatastrophefromwhichwehaveneverrecovered.Withagriculturecamethegrosssocialandsexualinequality,thediseaseanddespotism,thatcurseourexistence.
Atfirst,theevidenceagainstthisrevisionistinterpretationwillstriketwentiethcenturyAmericansasirrefutable.We'rebetteroffinalmosteveryrespectthanpeopleoftheMiddleAges,whointurnhaditeasierthancavemen,whointurnwerebetteroffthanapes.Justcountouradvantages.Weenjoythemostabundantandvariedfoods,thebesttoolsandmaterialgoods,someofthelongestandhealthiestlives,inhistory.Mostofusaresafefromstarvationandpredators.Wegetourenergyfromoilandmachines,notfromoursweat.Whatneo-Ludditeamonguswouldtradehislifeforthatofamedievalpeasant,acaveman,oranape
Formostofourhistorywesupportedourselvesbyhuntingandgathering:
wehuntedwildanimalsandforagedforwildplants.It'salifethatphilosophershavetraditionallyregardedasnasty,brutish,andshort.Sincenofoodisgrownandlittleisstored,thereis(inthisview)norespitefromthestrugglethatstartsaneweachdaytofindwildfoodsandavoidstarving.Ourescapefromthismiserywasfacilitatedonly10,000yearsago,whenindifferentpartsoftheworldpeoplebegantodomesticateplantsandanimals.Theagriculturalrevolutionspreaduntiltodayit'snearlyuniversalandfewtribesofhunter-gathererssurvive.
FromtheprogressivistperspectiveonwhichIwasbroughtup,toask"Whydidalmostallourhunter-gathererancestorsadoptagriculture"issilly.Ofcoursetheyadopteditbecauseagricultureisanefficientwaytogetmorefoodforlesswork.Plantedcropsyieldfarmoretonsperacrethanrootsandberries.Justimagineabandofsavages,exhaustedfromsearchingfornutsorchasingwildanimals,suddenlygrazingforthefirsttimeatafruit-ladenorchardorapasturefullofsheep.Howmanymillisecondsdoyouthinkitwouldtakethemtoappreciatetheadvantagesofagriculture
Theprogressivistpartylinesometimesevengoessofarastocreditagriculturewiththeremarkablefloweringofartthathastakenplaceoverthepastfewthousandyears.Sincecropscanbestored,andsinceittakeslesstimetopickfoodfromagardenthantofinditinthewild,agriculturegaveusfreetimethathunter-gatherersneverhad.ThusitwasagriculturethatenabledustobuildtheParthenonandcomposetheB-minorMass.
Whilethecasefortheprogressivistviewseemsoverwhelming,it'shardtoprove.Howdoyoushowthatthelivesofpeople10,000yearsagogotbetterwhentheyabandonedhuntingandgatheringforfarmingUntilrecently,archaeologistshadtoresorttoindirecttests,whoseresults(surprisingly)failedtosupporttheprogressivistview.Here'soneexampleofanindirecttest:
Aretwentiethcenturyhunter-gatherersreallyworseoffthanfarmersScatteredthroughouttheworld,severaldozengroupsofso-calledprimitivepeople,liketheKalaharibushmen,continuetosupportthemselvesthatway.Itturnsoutthatthesepeoplehaveplentyofleisuretime,sleepagooddeal,andworklesshardthantheirfarmingneighbors.Forinstance,theaveragetimedevotedeachweektoobtainingfoodisonly12to19hoursforonegroupofBushmen,14hoursorlessfortheHadzanomadsofTanzania.OneBushman,whenaskedwhyhehadn'temulatedneighboringtribesbyadoptingagriculture,replied,"Whyshouldwe,whentherearesomanymongongonutsintheworld"
Whilefarmersconcentrateonhigh-carbohydratecropslikericeandpotatoes,themixofwildplantsandanimalsinthedietsofsurvivinghunter-gatherersprovidesmoreproteinandabettterbalanceofothernutrients.Inonestudy,theBushmen'saveragedailyfoodintake(duringamonthwhenfoodwasplentiful)was2,140caloriesand93gramsofprotein,considerablygreaterthantherecommendeddailyallowanceforpeopleoftheirsize.It'salmostinconceivablethatBushmen,whoeat75orsowildplants,coulddieofstarvationthewayhundredsofthousandsofIrishfarmersandtheirfamiliesdidduringthepotatofamineofthe1840s.
Sothelivesofatleastthesurvivinghunter-gatherersaren'tnastyandbrutish,eventhoughfarmeshavepushedthemintosomeoftheworld'sworstrealestate.Butmodernhunter-gatherersocietiesthathaverubbedshoulderswithfarmingsocietiesforthousandsofyearsdon'ttellusaboutconditionsbeforetheagriculturalrevolution.Theprogressivistviewisreallymakingaclaimaboutthedistantpast:
thatthelivesofprimitivepeopleimprovedwhentheyswitchedfromgatheringtofarming.Archaeologistscandatethatswitchbydistinguishingremainsofwildplantsandanimalsfromthoseofdomesticatedonesinprehistoricgarbagedumps.
Howcanonededucethehealthoftheprehistoricgarbagemakers,andtherebydirectlytesttheprogressivistviewThatquestionhasbecomeanswerableonlyinrecentyears,inpartthroughthenewlyemergingtechniquesofpaleopathology,thestudyofsignsofdiseaseintheremainsofancientpeoples.
Insomeluckysituations,thepaleopathologisthasalmostasmuchmaterialtostudyasapathologisttoday.Forexample,archaeologistsintheChileandesertsfoundwellpreservedmummieswhosemedicalconditionsattimeofdeathcouldbedeterminedbyautopsy(Discover,October).Andfecesoflong-deadIndianswholivedindrycavesinNevadaremainsufficientlywellpreservedtobeexaminedforhookwormandotherparasites.
Usuallytheonlyhumanremainsavailableforstudyareskeletons,buttheypermitasurprisingnumberofdeductions.Tobeginwith,askeletonrevealsitsowner'ssex,weight,andapproximateage.Inthefewcaseswheretherearemanyskeletons,onecanconstructmortalitytablesliketheoneslifeinsurancecompaniesusetocalculateexpectedlifespanandriskofdeathatanygivenage.Paleopathologistscanalsocalculategrowthratesbymeasuringbonesofpeopleofdifferentages,examineteethforenameldefects(signsofchildhoodmalnutrition),andrecognizescarsleftonbonesbyanemia,tuberculosis,leprosy,andotherdiseases.
Onestraightforwardexampleofwhatpaleopathologistshavelearnedfromskeletonsconcernshistoricalchangesinheight.SkeletonsfromGreeceandTurkeyshowthattheaverageheightofhunger-gathererstowardtheendoftheiceageswasagenerous5'9''formen,5'5''forwomen.Withtheadoptionofagriculture,heightcrashed,andby3000B.C.hadreachedalowofonly5'3''formen,5'forwomen.Byclassicaltimesheightswereveryslowlyontheriseagain,butmodernGreeksandTurkshavestillnotregainedtheaverageheightoftheirdistantancestors.
AnotherexampleofpaleopathologyatworkisthestudyofIndianskeletonsfromburialmoundsintheIllinoisandOhiorivervalleys.AtDicksonMounds,locatedneartheconfluenceoftheSpoonandIllinoisrivers,archaeologistshaveexcavatedsome800skeletonsthatpaintapictureofthehealthchangesthatoccurredwhenahunter-gathererculturegavewaytointensivemaizefarmingaroundA.D.1150.StudiesbyGeorgeArmelagosandhiscolleaguesthenattheUniversityofMassachusettsshowtheseearlyfarmerspaidapricefortheirnew-foundlivelihood.Comparedtothehunter-gathererswhoprecededthem,thefarmershadanearly50percentincreaseinenameldefectsindicativeofmalnutrition,afourfoldincreaseiniron-deficiencyanemia(evidencedbyaboneconditioncalledporotichyperostosis),athreefoldriseinbonelesionsreflectinginfectiousdiseaseingeneral,andanincreaseindegenerativeconditionsofthespine,probablyreflectingalotofhardphysicallabor."Lifeexpectancyatbirthinthepre-agriculturalcommunitywasbouttwenty-sixyears,"saysArmelagos,"butinthepost-agriculturalcommunityitwasnineteenyears.Sotheseepisodesofnutritionalstressandinfectiousdiseasewereseriouslyaffectingtheirabilitytosurvive."
TheevidencesuggeststhattheIndiansatDicksonMounds,likemanyotherprimitivepeoples,tookupfarmingnotbychoicebutfromnecessityinordertofeedtheirconstantlygrowingnumbers."Idon'tthinkmosthunger-gatherersfarmeduntiltheyhadto,andwhentheyswitchedtofarmingtheytradedqualityforquantity,"saysMarkCohenoftheStateUniversityofNewYorkatPlattsburgh,co-editorwithArmelagos,ofoneoftheseminalbooksinthefield,PaleopathologyattheOriginsofAgriculture."WhenIfirststartedmakingthatargumenttenyearsago,notmanypeopleagreedwithme.Nowit'sbecomearespectable,albeitcontroversial,sideofthedebate."
Thereareatleastthreesetsofreasonstoexplainthefindingsthatagriculturewasbadforhealth.First,hunter-gatherersenjoyedavarieddiet,whileearlyfannersobtainedmostoftheirfoodfromoneorafewstarchycrops.Thefarmersgainedcheapcaloriesatthecostofpoornutrition,(todayjustthreehigh-carbohydrateplants--wheat,rice,andcorn--providethebulkofthecaloriesconsumedbythehumanspecies,yeteachoneisdeficientincertainvitaminsoraminoacidsessentialtolife.)Second,becauseofdependenceonalimitednumberofcrops,farmersrantheriskofstarvationifone
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