Subsistence and Economy

Part 1:

1. Benefits
• Hunting and gathering 
• Societies that rely on hunting and gathering are normally small, resulting in less struggle to find food to feed everyone
• They only hunt and gather food to feed themselves, they don't have to struggle trying to have a surplus of food
• They do not have to depend on any outside sources besides nature to find food  
• Agriculture 
• Allows for societies to grow bigger because a surplus of food can be available 
• They can settle in one place because they don't have to constantly move to follow hunting seasons 
• Trade is made more possible with agricultural societies
2. Disadvantages 
• Hunting and gathering
• Because hunter gatherers have to constantly move, it is impossible to settle in one place
• Since land is very important for them, oftentimes they must fight for it
• Since hunter gather populations are often small, it is more difficult for them to fight of larger populations when fighting for land. 
• Agriculture 
• Because they typically grow surplus amount of food, by the time they eat it is might not be fresh 
• Typically, agricultural populations are big so if a harvest goes bad a lot of people are affected by it. Consequently, it is harder to repair from a bad harvest. 
• In order to keep the harvest going smoothly, a lot of time and effort must be involved
3. Hunting and gathering provides a healthier diet because they typically eat fresh food soon after it is hunted. Also, the crops they gather don't have pesticides that crops would have in an agricultural harvest.
4. Early human populations probably transitioned to agriculture instead of hunting and gathering because it allows for the population to settle down in one place. In doing this, it takes away the hassle of moving from place to place. By staying in one place, they probably felt that their land was secure and it would be hard for other populations to fight for it. Once they settled down, it was possible for them to have more stuff because they didn't have to deal with traveling with it. Once they had a surplus of food or other things, they probably began trading with others. 

Part 2:

1. The statement points out that in order to trade, a surplus must be available. Without a surplus amount, nobody would really consider trading since the stuff they have is stuff they need. In order to begin thinking about trade, surplus must be at hand. 
2. One social benefit of trade is the possibility of sharing regional resources, such as wheat, that enhance a populations well being. Another social benefit is the communication (of different peoples) that arises through trade. 
3. A negative social result of trade would be greed. Another negative social result is that trade opens up the possibility for certain people to gain power. 
4. Agriculture facilitated the possibility of surplus amounts of food. With that surplus, people realized they didn't need it all and began trading it for other things they did not have.