Archaeological evidence indicates that within a remarkably short period of time following the Pleistocene, human populations in many regions of the globe adopted plant cultivation as a partial or primary subsistence strategy. For much of Western history, the so-called invention of agriculture has been regarded as an improvement in the human condition, forming the foundation of "civilization". With the transition from foraging to farming, Homo sapiens saw dramatic improvements in health and nutrition, increase in life expectancy, and decrease in work load. Until the last decade or so, data supporting this conjecture have been lacking. Diachronic comparisons of human skeletal remains from diverse settings worldwide reveal that the traditional la dolce vita characterization of prehistoric farmers is inaccurate. Although highly variable, the overall picture presented by the study of skeletal remains is one of decline in health status in most settings where the transition took place. In particular, there is a pattern of increase in infection and dental disease, increase in physiological stress, and alteration in growth and development. Behavioral change is also indicated by an overall decrease in cranial and postcranial robusticity. The shift from food collection to food production -- and especially cultivation of plants -- resulted in significant and widespread biological changes in post-Pleistocene human populations.