For more than 20 years I have been using a macroecological approach to make and test predictions about the archaeological record, particularly the transition from hunting-gathering-fishing subsistence to food production. This approach allows me to compare and contrast patterns in the archaeological record from different times and places to learn what factors in the natural or human environment lead to differences in the pace and pattern of broad changes in subsistence and social organization. This talk will introduce the audience to macroecology, distinguish human macroecology from a macroecological approach to asking anthropological questions, and showcase ways in which I have used this approach to learn under what conditions hunter-gatherers become food producers.