The population growth is a consequence of the food surplus.
Hunter-gatherers do
not consistently have spare time. That's the trick.
I think that continues today, and that a
> significant part of current development is due to bringing ever-larger
> numbers of people into our market and science systems.
>
> >only those long term food surpluses
> >can move an army over long distances.
>
> Up to the invention of gunpowder, the most powerful armies were those of
the
> Central Asian pastoralists. Long term food surpluses can take
> non-agricultural form; they used grazing animals, which had the distinct
> advantage of moving themselves.
But not the people...
Would you agree that agriculture leads to the population explosion?
Chris Behrens
cbehrens@deltav.net
http://www.deltav.net
"Politics is the art of the possible. That is why only
mediocre minds are attracted to it; great minds seek
the impossible."
- Arthur C. Clarke