It's terribly frustrating. It seems every time someone puts up a particularly outrageous post, about the time I am halfway through researching and drafting what I consider (of course) a devastating riposte, a moderator comes along and shuts down the thread, rendering my brilliant prose moot.

So I beg your indulgence if I add a footnote to the recently closed thread,

Females have been trading sex for food, something that has been observed among chimps, since the hunter-gatherer period of prehistory, long before the invention of agriculture, disproving the idea that farmer is the oldest profession.

Transward

If that was the case, then wouldn't hunter/gatherer be the oldest profession? Some early hominid had to find the food or hunt it first. Then prostitution would be the second oldest profession.

Of course the agricultural revolution could be said to be the invention that gave rise to modern humans. In that case, then farmer might be the first human profession.

Food for thought.

Cainanite (imported) wrote: Sun Apr 29, 2012 10:56 pm Of course the agricultural revolution could be said to be the invention that gave rise to modern humans. In that case, then farmer might be the first human profession.

Food for thought.

I think we were human long before agriculture came along. Most anthropologists consider agriculture is what gave rise to civilization, but most of the characteristics of humanity occurred before that. There was toolmaking, trade, clans, wars well before agriculture showed up in the Fertile Crescent.

Any serious discussion of the first profession is ultimately futile, but is clear that there were hunters, fishermen, soldiers, traders and yes whores (even at the very beginnings of history we find temple prostitution) all before the arrival of farmers.

Transward

I think that you are missing one essential difference between a prostitute and a farmer/fisherman/trader etc.

Until the advent of agriculture almost all humans (that we know about) were nomads whose major concern was obtaining enough food to feed their members in their family group and skins or whatever to provide protection. There may have been, probably was, limited trading - but this would have been between members of the same group or between neighbouring groups - there would not have been one member who spent their time carrying items from one group to barter with another. Even fisher folk would have moved from place to place and probably only spent part of their time fishing.

Agriculture can only be carried out by someone who remains in the same place for a substantial period of time.

The difference that I first mentioned is that a prostitute trades something intangible - sex, with someone who is not her mate, for something tangible - food or clothing. The only other activity which might be comparable in those earliest times was an entertainer who might, literally, sing for their supper. A prostitute does not, therefore, need to be tied to a single location and so it probably does pre-date agriculture.

nobody paid for it way back then

that is a civilized thing

if the man was big enough and he wanted it he just took what he wanted without asking