Changes

Greater dependence on agriculture appears to have encouraged greater emphasis on settlement. With greater dependence on plant and animal domestication, it became a greater hindrance to travel farther distances and exploit hunting and gathering resources. Therefore, settled societies became possible with the rise of agriculture. This had a profound importance in social development, as it led to new household institutions, including nuclear and extended families, and adaptation to greater numbers of people in smaller spaces.<ref>For a discussion on the social changes associated with domestication see: Bender, Barbara. 1978. “Gatherer‐hunter to Farmer: A Social Perspective.” ''World Archaeology'' 10 (2): 204–22. dos:10.1080/00438243.1978.9979731.</ref> The latter is significant because this ultimately leads to the rise of cities and the development of laws, governments, and formal religions. In essence, agriculture creates new social problems, whereby greater numbers of people living in more confined spaces need to create new social practices to manage their social interactions. In many respects, the foundations to our societies whereby laws, governments, and social norms that regulate how we marry, interact, and structure our families were initially developed at the time of agricultural domestication and its spread becoming the norm.</ref> In time, social structures created began to reinforce the need for agriculture, that is societies becoming dependent on them, encouraging people to stay settled and follow given social norms such as those that developed with the rise of agriculture.