From: Harvey Newstrom (mail@HarveyNewstrom.com)
Date: Sat May 24 2003 - 21:52:55 MDT
Damien Sullivan wrote,
> We cannot thank agriculture for the
> ability to do
> > math and write language. We can thank it only for adding more selection
>
> No one has claimed that agriculture should be thanked for that ability.
I do claim that. Hunter gatherers were mobile and couldn't carry records.
Artwork and records and writing didn't become important until people settled
around architecture and could amass these items. Also, writing and numbers
seem to have developed to count livestock and crops. Early writing symbols
seem to be fashioned after cattle and stalks of grain. Early documents seem
to be counts or livestock and crops. As cities amassed, documents started
included census information and maps. The concept of counting things,
retaining information, and passing this to others was based on agriculture.
Then came bartering, contracts, and commerce, all due to agriculture. The
leisure time and ability to stay in one place directly lead to science,
literature, and experimentation. Advanced civilization was only made
possible when mass production of food freed up some people to do something
besides hunt and gather. Agriculture seems to be our first foray into
technology, organization and production.
-- Harvey Newstrom, CISSP, IAM, GSEC, IBMCP <www.HarveyNewstrom.com> <www.Newstaff.com>
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