Automation may have contributed to dragging society out of sustenance (subsistence?) farming, but many other factors have been hugely significant. Agriculture,

Automation may have contributed to dragging society out of sustenance (subsistence?) farming, but many other factors have been hugely significant. Agriculture, irrigation, hygiene, sanitation, medicine, cities, etc etc etc. Automation -- in the manner signified in this thread -- has only contributed in recent years, whereas other factors have been significant for decades or even centuries.