Without knowing your answers to Damian's questions, I think you might want to consider Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel. It is written for a general audience and looks at hunter/gatherer societies across the world giving some amazing insights why some groups developed argiculture and domesticated animals and why other groups remained hunter/gathers to this day.

If you want a sample of his writing, check out The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race.[eces.org]