Final answer:
The human population increase of the Holocene was primarily driven by the advent of agriculture, which provided a stable food source, allowing the birth rate to surpass the increased death rate and leading to slow but steady population growth.
Step-by-step explanation:
The human population increase of the Holocene was probably due to a dramatic increase in nutritional quality as a result of agriculture.
With the advent of agriculture approximately 10,000 years ago, food became more available and reliable, allowing humans to settle in villages and cities.
Although the death rate increased due to diseases from domestic animals and crowded living conditions, the birth rate also increased significantly as a result of the settled lifestyle and higher food availability. This contributed to a continuous, although slow, population growth.
Other significant factors in human population growth include migration, public health improvements, sanitation, and medical advancements such as antibiotics and vaccines, which have further accelerated the population increase, particularly in the past 200 years. Infectious diseases, though still impactful in some regions, now contribute less to limiting population growth due to these advancements.