Agriculture

Farming led to an increase in population because of the food that was available. People tended to settle down wherever there was fertile land which meant that people lived close together, closer than they would originally. This would be the perfect place for infectious diseases to flourish, with everyone so close together. This was not such a problem in hunter-gatherer civilizations.  “Whereas over a dozen major infectious diseases of Old World origins became established in the New World, not a single major killer reached Europe from the Americas. The sole possible exception is syphilis, whose area of origin still remains controversial.”(Diamond, 1992) Diamond stated the Americas were not as exposed to many infectious disease which meant that their population did not decline as often as those in the New World. This is true but since the New World was exposed to infectious diseases because of living so close with other people and from animals, they were able to fight off diseases the next time around. Agriculture did create more chances for infectious diseases to spread but they also were able to find different ways to help cure diseases due to them having more time.