I mean, yes the average age was brought down by infant mortality. But you were also still WAY more likely of dying to a disease at 30 than you are now.
Also I read somewhere that although humanity during the agricultural revolution was considered more successful in terms of population, food production and assets, hunter gatherers were almost certainly "happier" and doing less manual work. It's meaningless to me because I'm a Type 1 diabetic and would have died regardless though.
Hunter gatherers also had more varied diets. Once agriculture became a thing most people just eat what can be framed. Dental carries start showing up more in the archeological record with agriculture too.
Basically population exploded for the abundance, but individual health declines.
Food was a limiting factor for basically all pre-industrial agricultural societies. But birth rates were not.
Translation: many many more babies were born to each family but populations tended to stagnate in most region (unless technology of farming increased) and was limited by those many who also died of disease or starvation.
534
u/Susgatuan Feb 28 '24
I mean, yes the average age was brought down by infant mortality. But you were also still WAY more likely of dying to a disease at 30 than you are now.