Neither of those claims are true. Subsistence farmers work all day every day, and it’s miserable work too. Hunter-gatherers have it a bit easier, ‘only’ working about as much as modern folk do, but make the trade for a whole host of stability and convenience issues. Pastoralists would probably be closest to your claim, but even then, you’re looking at spending most of your day in the saddle. Does give a bit more context to the very “What the fuck, you WANT to live like this?” style reactions from pastoralist societies to sedentary farming societies though.
As for medical issues, you could look forward to a long life of parasitic infection and chronic health issues from past illnesses.
They worked like 10% as much as we do. Also, if you had ANY medical issues, you just died. Easy peasy, no fuss no muss.
Neither of those claims are true. Subsistence farmers work all day every day, and it’s miserable work too. Hunter-gatherers have it a bit easier, ‘only’ working about as much as modern folk do, but make the trade for a whole host of stability and convenience issues. Pastoralists would probably be closest to your claim, but even then, you’re looking at spending most of your day in the saddle. Does give a bit more context to the very “What the fuck, you WANT to live like this?” style reactions from pastoralist societies to sedentary farming societies though.
As for medical issues, you could look forward to a long life of parasitic infection and chronic health issues from past illnesses.
You’re really putting a damper on my just dying of things fantasy…
You can just die of starvation, you know, if you’re not into the whole subsistence thing.
“I’m a non-subsistence farmer.”
“You mean you grow a considerable surplus, right?”
“No.”
Kind of like you can just build a cathedral. It’s actually quite an ordeal.