ABSTRACT
A few distinctions may have existed for some leaders; some skeletons have been discovered with ornamental jewelry, probably not available for most people. Some scholars go on to speculate that considerable freedom existed as well. Certainly there were few constraints on individuals who decided to leave a group and strike out on their own, though survival might be an issue. The society has developed great skill in hunting and in identifying the plants that are useful for food and medicine. Material conditions had positive features and, perhaps even more important, a culture could be developed that promoted satisfaction over aspiration. Levels of disease went up: most agriculture involved settled communities that were, as well, somewhat larger than hunting and gathering bands. Small wonder that some recent scholars have argued, with Jerrod Diamond, that the transition to agriculture was “the worst mistake in the history of the human race”.
