5/16 Chp 1, Chp 2

   One of the more interesting topics of the reading for me was the transition overtime in the way people used and valued food. In my life today, food, the sharing of food, and how much of our lives are centered around meals is an important part of daily routine. People originally traveled based on their need for hunting and gathering resources. The amount of resources they had in one specific place determined whether or not it was time to move on to the next location. It was not until the development of agriculture and the raising of animals that civilizations began to settle in one place over a long period of time. Through this development we also see a rise in the overall population of human on the planet. This is especially important at a time when the species is extremely vulnerable to aspects of the environment making it difficult to survive, like the Ice Age. As people began to settle in one place we see societies becoming not only larger, but also more complex and socially structured.
   Through these developments we begin to see the first pieces of pottery and art, also the construction of tools like canoes, bowls and tool handles. The domestication of animals also proves as a shift in the way people functioned throughout society. It was through this settling down of nomadic people that creates one of the most influential shifts in the history of human beings. This settlement also leads to a dilemma we are facing in our lives today and that is the amount of stress large groups of people puts on Earths resources. With large groups of people living in one area the lands resources begin to deplete at a much faster rate and the food supply becomes a much more scarce commodity. This is very similar to problems like global warming and the use of fresh water in that in the moment people realize they need these type of resources, however it is hard to comprehend the idea that one day these things will run out completely.