Diet data analysis shows early farmers in the Andes were doing just fine, challenging popular theory

Farming without famine: Ancient Andean innovation rewrites agricultural origins

Farming didn t emerge in the Andes due to crisis or scarcity it was a savvy and resilient evolution. Ancient diets remained stable for millennia, blending wild and domesticated foods while cultural innovations like trade and ceramics helped smooth the transition.

Diet data analysis shows early farmers in the Andes were doing just fine, challenging popular theory

In the Andes, the rise of agriculture to replace foraging was not the result of hardship and resource scarcity, but instead a time of economic resilience and innovation, according to a study published in PLOS One by Luis Flores-Blanco of the University of California Davis and Arizona State University, U.S., and colleagues.

Early Agriculture Was About Innovation Not Desperation

In the Andes, the rise of agriculture to replace foraging was not the result of hardship and resource scarcity, but instead a time of economic resilience and innovation, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS One by Luis Flores-Blanco of the University of California Davis and Arizona State University, U.S., and colleagues. The transition from foraging to farming was a major shift in human history that laid the foundations…