Have you ever wondered why humans switched from a hunter-gatherer way of life to earning a living from farming and domesticating animals? Perhaps it just seems obvious that farming provides a better and more reliable source of food. But, when you consider the great investment of time and effort needed to grow a crop or raise cattle only to see them fail as they are infested by pests or die during a drought you may begin to realise that farming can be quite a risky buisness.

If natural foods were abundant why should people start to plant crops?

The most likely culprit for the causes of domestication are humans themselves. Many theories attribute the cause of farming in the overcrowding of the early human settlements. Though theories of how and why this happens abound.

The Varioius Theories

Childe's Oasis theory

sedentary fishers

Or could there be other causes?

anderson.. crops emerged as weeds in rubbish tips and were cultivated

crops were grown for religious ceremonies

But, perhaps the most likely explanation is that no-one theory can account for the many motives and reasons behind the rise in agriculture.

harlan - no model model, no one reason is correct