Final answer:
Food production began to surpass foraging around 10,000 BCE with the advent of the Agricultural Revolution. This led to agriculture and the domestication of animals, increasing productivity and leading to larger, more stable human populations and the formation of complex societies.
Step-by-step explanation:
Food production began to overtake foraging, a historic pivot known as the Agricultural Revolution, around 10,000 BCE. This critical period marked the transition from hunting-gathering to agriculture and animal domestication. The impact of this shift cannot be overstated; agriculture could yield a dramatically higher caloric return than foraging could, enabling populations to expand significantly. Ancient humans began domesticating animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats, and cultivated plants for reliable harvests. This domestication of plants and animals allowed for more settled lifestyles and the development of early human societies with more complex economies and social structures, laying the foundation for permanent settlements and the eventual rise of civilizations.
It is worthwhile to note that for about 95% of human history, our ancestors relied on hunting and gathering, a lifestyle that some believe our bodies and brains are best adapted for. With the emergence of agriculture, early humans began to live less egalitarian lives due to labor specialization and the accumulation of wealth through the production of surplus crops.
The earliest signs of agricultural development occurred independently in various regions such as the Fertile Crescent, the valleys of the Indus, Yangtze, and Yellow rivers, and later in other parts of the world such as the Americas. The tools for agriculture evolved from simple pointed sticks to plows, which, when pulled by animals, increased efficiencies in food production, enabling some to become artisans or traders, diversifying economic roles within societies.