What do we know about the agricultural demographic transition?

The Agricultural Revolution accompanied, either as a cause or as an effect, important changes in human demographic systems. The consensus model is that fertility and mortality increased and health declined with the adoption of agriculture, compared to those for hunter-gatherers. Analysis of the agricultural transition relies primarily on archaeological and paleodemographic data and is thus subject to the errors associated with such data. The assumptions needed to use these data can profoundly affect the inferences that are drawn. While it is clear that, in general, population growth accompanied the agricultural transition, it is not as clear exactly how fertility and mortality changed or whether the transition caused a decline in health. Although the model of the agricultural demographic transition as outlined here may be correct, researchers should remain aware of the underlying assumptions and be open to future empirical evidence.