Hunter vs. farmer hypothesis

Okay, so imagine you live in a big field full of carrots and apples. There are two types of people who might live in this field: hunters and farmers.

The hunters are like the people who go hunting for deer or other animals in the forest. They like to go out and find their food by hunting and gathering. They might catch a rabbit or pick some berries to eat.

The farmers, on the other hand, are like the people who grow crops in a farm. They like to plant seeds and take care of their plants to make sure they grow big and strong. Then, when the fruits and vegetables are ripe, they pick them and eat them.

Now, some scientists have wondered whether humans have always been hunters or if we became farmers later on. This is called the hunter vs. farmer hypothesis.

Some scientists think that humans have always been hunters – that we evolved to be good at hunting and gathering food. They think that we only started farming when we started living in bigger groups and needed more food to feed everyone.

Other scientists think that humans started off as hunters, but as we learned more about plants and agriculture, we started to become farmers too. They think that farming became a better way to get food because we could grow more food in one place and not have to go out and hunt or gather every day.

So, whether we were always hunters or if we became farmers later on is still something scientists are trying to figure out. But what we do know is that both hunting and farming are important ways that humans have found food throughout history.