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Thanks to Dave Riley (a comrade from the FB group "Soil Alliance") for setting or beginning to set the record straight. His point *"Soil disturbance through the invention and use of the plough has to be seen as a key mistake"* hit's the nail on the head and the fact that this is only really noted by agro-anthropologists (anthropologists and historians with a strong understanding of agricultural techniques). Agriculture was a *great and wonderful* advancement over hunter-gathering. [I should point out here that Marshal Sahlins has been thoroughly diced and taken down by many anthropologists. There *is* a debate on Shalin's anthropological projections. He by no means represents any sort of consensus]. When talking to agronomists who look back at ancient societies of all sorts (including the most prevalent for thousands of years in the New World, those that engaged in both hunting and gathering AND agriculture) it is indeed *how* early agricultural societies farmed, not that they farmed at all. Most of the agronomists who study this do indeed point out that the plow was the key instrument that causes all sorts of problems primarily being that of soil infertility and soil runoff. By exposing soils to the sun, one kills off the bacteria and fungi that completes the symbiotic relationship between the sun, soil, plants as cover crops, domesticated animals, and humans. Many would argue that this is the single biggest blight on humanity when it started farming. David Walters _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
