The Middle and later part of the Holocene was the period in which the balance of power for the control of nature permanently shifted. From a common starting point in peasant farming, there evolved during the second half of the Holocene a diverse range of cultures based on agriculture and pastoralism. The new form of social relations also changed human environment relationship in several important ways. For example, agricultural output was maximized improving the productivity of existing farmland or by increasing the cultivated area.
