Final answer:
Some groups chose not to adopt agriculture due to preferences for nomadic lifestyles, environmental factors, and the challenges posed by disease and weather dependence in agricultural communities. b. Preference for nomadic lifestyle
Step-by-step explanation:
Some groups may have decided not to adopt agriculture for various reasons. A strong preference for a nomadic lifestyle can be one reason; such was the case with many Indigenous peoples, including those in Australia who encountered agricultural practices through contact with New Guineans but remained hunter-gatherers. In some instances, like with the people of the Inner Asian Steppe around 1500 BCE, a shift towards livestock herding from agriculture was likely due to environmental and lifestyle factors. The availability and versatility of the horse after its reintroduction to North America also played a significant role in the transformation of Plains groups from agriculturalists to nomadic hunter/gatherers.
Challenges such as the vulnerability to epidemic diseases in large, stationary populations and dependency on weather for crop success made agriculture less attractive in some cases. However, adopting agriculture did have advantages, such as providing a more reliable food supply, despite making groups less mobile. When considering the shift in societies from nomadic lifestyles to agriculture or vice versa, the contextual conditions, resources available, and external pressures were paramount in influencing such decisions.