We recently published a paper in PNAS examining the the role of agriculture in the growth of the prehistoric human population. We discovered that contrary to the commonly held belief, the introduction of agriculture did not lead to an acceleration in the growth rate of prehistoric humans. I find these results fascinating.

Here is a link to the ScienceDaily press release about the research and here is the published paper in PDF and the article page at PNAS.

Pictured above is artist Jeremy Strength's depiction of the parity between the subsistence strategies of farming and foraging. Image courtesy of Jeremy Strength. More of his work can be found on his website.