Final answer:
Early humans obtained food through hunting and gathering before transitioning to agriculture around 12,000 years ago, which led to the development of the first economies and changed the course of human history.
Step-by-step explanation:
Early Human Diets and Subsistence Methods
Our earliest ancestors were primarily hunter-gatherers. They lived in small family groups that migrated following the availability of resources. Their food sources ranged from wild fruits and vegetables to the animals they hunted. Foraging wild edibles and hunting were the main strategies deployed for survival, and there was no established agriculture or domestication of animals for a significant part of human history. With the invention of farming around 12,000 years ago, a monumental shift occurred, ultimately leading to settled communities and the development of the first true economies. Meanwhile, gathering and hunting remained the most suitable lifestyle in evolutionary terms, and the diets during these times were diverse, depending heavily on the local environments in which different groups lived.
The Agricultural Revolution
The transition to agriculture marked the beginning of the Neolithic Age, roughly 12,000 years ago. Agriculture first emerged in the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East and then independently in other regions such as the Indus, Yangtze, and Yellow river valleys, along with Mesoamerica and parts of Africa. This agricultural revolution significantly improved food production, allowing for larger families and increased population density, fundamentally altering the course of human history.