Your task here is to formulate a response to the idea that human beings made a big mistake when we switched from hunting and gathering to agriculture. 

You will be reading an excerpt from an essay written by the scientist Jared Diamond for Discover Magazine in 1987. Diamond proposes that for most of humanity, life became worse once we adopted agriculture. He says that it is only the elite who did better. 

Once you have read the excerpt below, you must format your response accordingly:

Paragraph 1

Summarize Jared Diamond's position in light of what you have read in this section

Paragraph 2

Respond to Diamond's position by stating what you think might be opposing views. Consider what he may have left out. 

Paragraph 3

Formulate your own point of view on this topic. You can agree with Diamond, the opposing view or a point in between, but you must support your point of view with evidence and examples. The evidence can come from the course, Diamond's essay or from your own life. 

This is not a research assignment, but if you choose to research this topic, you must include citations for all works that you have read. 

This will be marked according to the rubric below.