Optimization Theories of the Transition from Foraging to Agriculture: A Critical Assessment and Proposed Alternatives

Journal Title: Social Evolution & History - Year 2017, Vol 16, Issue 1

Abstract

es, one in economics and the other in anthropology, explain the economic evolution of Neolithic societies, particularly their transit from foraging to agriculture. Both assume rational optimizing behavior. It is argued that satisficing theories provide a superior explanation of transition (and non-transition) by some huntergatherers. Furthermore, many of the concepts associated with neoclassical economics are shown to be inadequate for analyzing the choice problems involved. Moreover, it is argued that all behavioral theories considering the relationship between human behavior and economic evolution need to pay attention to the way that decision-making is embedded in social structures. It is unlikely that a single theory will be able to explain the economic evolution of all societies when social structures and other relevant variables differ between communities.

Authors and Affiliations

Clem Tisdell, Serge Svizzero

Keywords

Related Articles

The Explanatory Potential of Rational Choice Theory: A Critical Assessment

What are the explanatory values characteristic of concepts considering humans as entities aimed at maximizing expected utility by means of coherent and logical decisions? Do citizens who are active in politics behave acc...

A review of Kent Flannery and Joyce Marcus, The Creation of Inequality. How our Prehistoric Ancestors Set the Stage for Monarchy, Slavery, and Empire. 2012, 631 pp., illustrations. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts – London, England.

Let me make it clear at the outset: Kent Flannery and Joyce Marcus, both well-known archaeologists and social anthropologists at the University of Michigan, have written a good and important book. Though the text is base...

Mega-History and the Twenty-First Century Singularity Puzzle

A series of calculations carried out independently by the Australian, Russian, and American researchers have demonstrated that a crucial global polyfurcation is expected somewhere near the middle of the twenty-first cent...

Rethinking Nigeria's Conflicts of State Building and the Legal Imperatives Beyond Chinua Achebe's ‘There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra

Among the lasting consequences of colonialism is the creation of a hybrid state structure that replaces the legacies of the precolonial indigenous social authority patterns with new western paradigms. Notwithstanding the...

Majeed A. Rahman Industrial Policy: Promising Possibilities for African Economic Growth and Development

The main body of this paper is made up of two separate parts each engaging and examining different aspects of industrial policy as they are related to developing African economies. The first part examines the importance...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP265907
  • DOI -
  • Views 149
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Clem Tisdell, Serge Svizzero (2017). Optimization Theories of the Transition from Foraging to Agriculture: A Critical Assessment and Proposed Alternatives. Social Evolution & History, 16(1), 3-30. https://europub.co.uk./articles/-A-265907