Question

Passage:
The transition from foraging to agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution remains one of the most intensely debated topics in archaeological anthropology, particularly regarding the primary catalysts that prompted human populations to abandon mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyles in favor of sedentary farming. In the early twentieth century, V. Gordon Childe proposed the "Oasis Theory," asserting that severe climatic desiccation at the end of the Pleistocene epoch forced humans, animals, and plants to congregate around shrinking water sources in the Near East. According to Childe, this unprecedented proximity and resource scarcity compelled humans to domesticate specific flora and fauna to ensure a stable food supply. However, subsequent paleoenvironmental data contradicted Childe’s foundational premise; pollen analyses and geological surveys demonstrated that the climate in the Levant actually became significantly wetter and warmer following the last glacial period, undermining the claim that environmental desiccation drove early domestication.

In response to the empirical shortcomings of the Oasis Theory, Robert Braidwood formulated the "Hilly Flanks Hypothesis" in the 1940s. Braidwood argued that agriculture did not emerge in lowland oases but rather in the fertile, rolling foothills of the Zagros and Taurus mountains. He posited that domestication was the natural outcome of increasing human cognitive sophistication and technological capability over time. Braidwood maintained that once hunter-gatherers had familiarized themselves intimately with the wild ancestors of wheat, barley, and sheep—which were indigenous to these hilly regions—they gradually began to cultivate them simply because they possessed the accumulated knowledge to do so. Yet, critics of Braidwood noted that his model failed to explain why agriculture emerged exactly when it did, as human cognitive capacities had ostensibly been capable of such innovation for tens of thousands of years prior.

More recently, Brian Hayden advanced the "Feasting Model," which shifts the focus from environmental determinism and cognitive readiness to socio-political dynamics. Hayden hypothesized that agriculture was not a desperate response to starvation or a mere byproduct of environmental familiarity, but rather a strategic innovation driven by emerging social elites seeking to consolidate power. According to Hayden, agriculture originally emerged in regions of abundant, rather than scarce, resources. In these affluent foraging societies, ambitious individuals aimed to host lavish, competitive feasts to build social capital, secure alliances, and indebt rivals. Because these extravagant feasts required a consistent, surplus supply of specific high-status foods—such as fermented beverages from early cereals or the meat of specialized animals—domesticating these species became a political necessity. Unlike Childe, who viewed early agriculture as a survival mechanism in barren landscapes, Hayden viewed it as a status-seeking mechanism in environments already brimming with naturally occurring resources.

Based on the provided passage, which of the following statements accurately retrieve explicit factual information regarding the agricultural origin theories discussed? (Select all that apply)