Mithen proposes the existence of four mental elements to account for the emergence of farming: the ability to develop tools that could be used intensively to harvest and process plant resources; the tendency to use plants and animals as the medium to acquire social prestige and power; the tendency to develop social relationships; with animals structurally similar to those developed with people—specifically, the ability to think of animals as people (anthropomorphism) and of people as animals (totemism); and the tendency to manipulate plants and animals.
