- Feb 11, 2004
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I've read some hypotheses stating that the Biblical story of the "Fall" echoes the transition from nomadic hunter-gatherer societies to agriculture - as well as some of the environmental disasters that followed from it.
See, contrary to popular belief, hunter-gatherers live a relatively carefree existence: the few ethnic groups who still embrace this lifestyle work approximately three to five hours per adult worker a day, and the concept of scarcity or accumulating resources is virtually unheard of.
Agriculture provided but one (extremely significant) advantage: sustaining a larger populace. Even if people were less healthy, toiled more, and had MUCH more to worry about, the sheer numbers favored this new lifestyle's success.
But the transition was most certainly traumatic - especially when the first agricultural societies started to overstrain their environment, and the damage caught up with them.
In a way that was certainly not anticipated by the authors of the Bible, the environmental degradation perpetuated by ancient civilizations comes much closer to exemplify "missing the mark" than the culture-specific taboos usually associated with the term "sin". They destroyed themselved in a quest for advancement.
See, contrary to popular belief, hunter-gatherers live a relatively carefree existence: the few ethnic groups who still embrace this lifestyle work approximately three to five hours per adult worker a day, and the concept of scarcity or accumulating resources is virtually unheard of.
Agriculture provided but one (extremely significant) advantage: sustaining a larger populace. Even if people were less healthy, toiled more, and had MUCH more to worry about, the sheer numbers favored this new lifestyle's success.
But the transition was most certainly traumatic - especially when the first agricultural societies started to overstrain their environment, and the damage caught up with them.
In a way that was certainly not anticipated by the authors of the Bible, the environmental degradation perpetuated by ancient civilizations comes much closer to exemplify "missing the mark" than the culture-specific taboos usually associated with the term "sin". They destroyed themselved in a quest for advancement.