Final answer:
The statement that horticulture supports permanent sedentism but requires more labor than foraging is true. Horticultural practices demand intensive labor but facilitate stable, permanent settlements, unlike the nomadic lifestyle of foragers.
Step-by-step explanation:
Horticulture can support permanent sedentism but requires more labor than foraging. This statement is true. The labor involved in plant cultivation, including horticulture, is significantly more demanding than the efforts required for gathering-hunting. Clearing land, tilling soil, planting, watering, weeding, pest control, harvesting, processing crops, and maintaining tools all contribute to a much heavier workload. Whereas foraging necessitates around 20 hours of work per week, agriculture demands upwards of 30 hours.
Notably, horticulture allows for the development of permanent settlements that are not reliant on the following resources. Consequently, horticultural societies are equipped to create more stable living conditions compared to nomadic hunter-gatherer societies. A transition from foraging to a settled agricultural lifestyle had profound effects on human societies, leading to the establishment of towns and cities and providing surplus food that enabled the development of different occupations and the urban shift associated with organized communities.