Technological Change and Population Growth

Stage 1: Hunting and Gathering

▪In the earliest stages of human history people were nomadic hunters and gathers ▪Women and children gathered food which provided a meager but reliable source of nutrition ▪Men went hunting which furnished occasional feasts but not with regularity ▪Feasts of meat allowed people to build up reserves of fat and survive hungry times

Stage 1: Hunting and Gathering ▪People were always at the edge of starvation ▪Very lagre area of land was needed to support a small population ▪Therefore the world’s carrying capacity was low and world population was limited to a few tens of millions ▪Before a substantial increase could occur, a new means of support had to be developed

Stage 2: The Agricultural Revolution ▪The discovery of agriculture remains the most important invention in human history ▪Without it, none of the cultural and technological advances since would have been possible

Stage 2: The Agricultural Revolution ▪Agriculture was first practiced almost years ago in what is now Israel, Jordan, southern Turkey and western Iran ▪It later spread to China, India, parts of Africa (notably Egypt) and the Americas

Stage 2: The Agricultural Revolution ▪The most important result of farming was the creation of a food surplus which had some staggering impacts ▪The agricultural revolution had a profound impact on the world’s population ▪Much more food could be produced for each square kilometre of land, increasing the carrying capacity significantly ▪Specific inventions increased productivity, from basic irrigation to Jethro Tull’s invention of the seed drill in 1701

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution ▪By the 1700's agriculture and the production of manufactured goods in more technologically developed parts of the world (e.g. western Europe) had become quite advanced ▪This was limited by the first “energy crisis”, where the only source of energy was muscle power, either human or domesticated animal ▪The true beginning of the Industrial Revolution was the development of non- muscular sources of power

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution ▪The earliest sources of non- muscular power were windmills and water wheels - clean, renewable energy providers

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution ▪Coal power was developed during the latter half of the 18th century and it provided an exponential increase in the available energy ▪A century later oil was found to be even more efficient and began to replace coal in many applications (e.g. locomotives)

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution ▪These new power sources changed the nature of life ▪One person’s efforts were multiplied many times by the use of external power sources ▪One’s physical strength became less important than one’s skills and intellect ▪The agricultural economy was transformed by these new technologies

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution ▪In 1837 John Deere introduced the steel plow ▪Without this plow agriculture in Canada and the United States would not have developed as much

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution ▪Because of this new invention fewer farm workers were needed ▪The amount of food produced was greater than before ▪Surplus agricultural workers migrated to cities or sometimes, new countries

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution ▪Migration to cities began the great urban boom

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution ▪Immigration to the colonies (later, independent countries) greatly changed the population in those parts of the world ▪Immigration continues to change the face of Canada today The Industrial Revolution greatly increased the carrying capacity of the earth