History of
Agriculture
Development
Agriculture/Agrifoods 11
Objectives
Be able to:
• Distinguish between the lifestyles of hunter-gatherers,
agriculturalists and pastoral nomads.
• Explain the technological advancements that lead to the
development of agriculture.
• Describe the connection between the development of
agriculture and the development of civilizations.
History of Agriculture
• "Over 80 percent of mankind's diet is
provided by the seeds of less than a dozen
plant species.“
• Over the years man has invented new
machines and techniques to increase the
amount and variety of crop production.
Early
Humans
Assignment
• Agricultural Revolution Webquest link
Agriculture to Civilization…
Learning Objectives
• Be able to explain how environmental change after 11,500 years
ago led to new human responses and opportunities.
• Be able to explain how changes in human population size and the
availability of certain plant and animal species are related to the
development and spread of cultivation, domestication, and
agriculture.
• Be able to trace the relationship between larger communities and
social complexity.
• Be able to explain the reasons why some people continued to hunt
and gather while others established cities and states.
Hesoid’s Ages of Man
(Greek poet, 8th-7th century B.C.)
Man has been on this earth for over 2 Million Years
I. Golden age (prehistory)
A. Age of the hunter-gatherer…99% of our existence
B. Eden-like pre-agricultural
II. Silver Age (8,000 B.C.)
A. Concept of work born
B. Symbolized by the “Yoke of Oxen”
III. Bronze Age (3,500 B.C.)
A. Trade developed
IV. Iron Age (1,500-600 B.C.)
Transition from Hunting-Gathering to
Agriculture continued…
Man simultaneously developed agriculture
worldwide 10,000 years ago,
after the last Ice Age…
suggests that climate changes contributed to the
cultivation of plants.
Transition from
Hunting-Gathering to Agriculture
• Human population growth rate increased slowly:
A. 0.0007- 0.0020 % /yr. Pleistocene age
B. 0.1 % /yr.
Neolithic
C. 1-2 % /yr.
Present day
• Low birth rate attributed to lifestyle of huntergatherer – not food scarcity.
• Not ignorance of plant growth, but lack of need
to practice agriculture prevented earlier
development of agriculture.
Agriculture, Energy, and
Civilization
•
Earth’s carrying capacity for huntergatherers estimated at 20-30 million.
Today? (7+ Billion)
•
Agricultural and the first cultural
revolutions developed symbiotically.
–
Solar energy (harvested through
photosynthesis) fueled the
agricultural revolution.
–
Fossil fuels drove the industrial revolution.
Characteristics of Civilizations
1. Surplus Food Production
– One person can produce enough food for several
people.
2. Cities
– Groups of people living together in the same place
3. Specialization of Labour
–
Increase in efficiency and complexity
4. Trade
– Sharing of ideas and materials = technology
Characteristics of Civilizations
5. Social Stratification
–
class/caste system
6. Centralized Government
–
Streamlined decision making
7. Shared Values (Religion)
–
Code of conduct that governs social behaviour
8. Writing
–
Communication and historical record
9. Developed Near Rivers
– Land is nutrient rich and easily watered
– Animals that were hunted/fished were not likely
to eat humans
Agriculture, Energy, and
Civilization…continued
•
Use of basic energy sources stimulated cultural,
social, and civil development.
•
Mechanization/fossil-fuels increased capacity
to produce food while reducing labor, but also
increased environmental degradation and
social conflict.
•
Agrarian societies viewed children as
economic assets
(large families were necessary for survival).
Agriculture, Energy, and
Civilization…continued
A “Catch 22”developed:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
More people require more food
Requiring more intensive agriculture
Requiring more energy to produce food
Leading to more environmental degradation
(particularly soil erosion)
Leading to crop failure
Leading to starvation
Leading to migration to new lands
Requiring more people to produce food
Agriculture, Energy, and
Civilization…continued
Demographic transition –
rising population
with shrinking resources.
What about today…
What are the resources that are
shrinking?
What is Agriculture?
• Agriculture is an artificial ecosystem in
which selected species of plants and animals
are cultivated and reared.
• Its two basic premises are:
1. the intentional propagation of food and
2. the isolation of the domesticated species
from their wild relatives, leading to changes
(intentional and unintentional) in their
morphology (structure and function of body parts).
Important terms
• Domestication: intentional or unintentional changes in the
genotypes and physical characteristics of plants and animals,
making them dependent on humans for reproductive success.
• Cultivation: the intentional preparation of fields, and sowing,
harvesting, and storing of crops, requiring significant and
deliberate changes in technology, subsistence, and perspectives.
• Herding: similar intentional changes in human-animal
relationships.
• Agriculture: a commitment to these changed human-plant-animal
relationships, ultimately involving changes in use of the earth,
including forest clearance, cultivation of storable crops, and the
invention of new farming technologies; resulting in increased
population and eventual increases in social and political
complexity.
Transition from Hunting-Gathering to
Agriculture continued…
• New evidence suggests that people cultivated rye
over 13,000 years ago, while continuing to hunt
animals and gather wild plants in the
Fertile Crescent.
• Suggests this is a long
development process and
not an all or nothing scenario.
• Hunter-gatherers turn to agriculture only as a
last resort when population pressure forces
them to acquire more food on available space.
Transition from
Hunting-Gathering to Agriculture
• Wild seeds were abundant, inexhaustible, and
could easily be harvested
– In Turkey, a person could harvest 2.2 lbs. of
wild wheat (einkorn, which contains 57% more
protein than current domestic wheat) in an
hour
– In Mexico, an 11-day supply of “wild corn”
(teosinte) could be gathered in 3.5 hours
– In Wisconsin, Ojibwa Indians could fill their
canoes with wild rice in a few hours.
Seed Culture in the Old World
I. Seed culture originated in drier subtropics
of both hemispheres (8,000-10,000 years ago)
A.
Fertile Crescent (Middle East)
–
B.
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Northern India and Pakistan
–
Indus River
C. Egypt
–
Nile River
D. Northern China
–
Huang Ho (Yellow River-Yangtze)
Indus Valley between India and Pakistan
Hunter
gatherers
settled in small
communities
in the
Fertile Crescent,
a narrow band
of land arcing
across the
Near East.
Seed Culture…
• It is at this place that we have discovered
evidence of people taking wild grasses and using
the seeds for food and planting for the next years
food.
• These seeds are
now
known as
cereals and
make up a large
percentage of
the worlds
food supply.
Seed Culture… Old World
• Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly grasses
cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds
Seed Culture in the Old World
continued…
II.
Irrigation and long term food storage was
required – higher degree of social
organization required.
III.
Major civilizations built in regions of
seed culture.
A. Food was potentially abundant
B. Great effort required to obtain food
Seed Culture in the Old World
continued…
IV. Cereal grains were early crops
– Wet-dry season requirements
– Large seed(endosperm) to resist drought/support
rapid growth during brief wet periods.
V. Ancestral cereals were attractive weeds
VI. Domesticated seed crops have shown a
disability to compete with weeds.
Seed Culture in the Old World…
VII. Seed culture developed most rapidly in
ecologically diverse regions.
– Earliest village farming community in western
Iran (wheat, barley, and domestic animals)
– Provide a rich diversity of plant materials
VIII. Cultivation of grains pre-dated cultivation
of fruits by several thousand years.
– More permanent settlement required due to long
term nature of fruit crops.
Seed Culture in the Old World
continued…
IX. As seed cultures moved from highlands to
valleys
Irrigation developed
– Tillage systems developed
– Selection of varieties improved
–
X. Four species of beans
– navy, kidney, lima, and peanuts
XI. Squash first developed for edible seeds
Ancestral Wheat and Barley
Seed Culture in the
New World
I.
Earliest seed culture practiced in Tehuacan
Valley- Southern Mexico
A. Corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, peppers,
avocados
B. Semi-arid area surrounded by foothills and
mountains with increasing level of
precipitation
II.
Corn was difficult to domesticate and there were
no herd animals to domesticate.
III. Crops dictated cultural evolution?
Seed Culture in the New World
continued…
IV. Some people believe that the cultural gap between
peoples of two hemispheres was due to
adaptability of native plants and animals.
V.
Maize-bean-squash complex
A. Corn-tall, first claim to moisture and sun
B. Bean vines – climbed up corn stalks, N-fixing
C. Squash – on ground, minimized weed growth
Origin of Vegeculture
I.
Vegeculture probably began in the tropics,
most commonly in lowland areas.
II.
Early fisherman probably practiced first
agriculture.
A. Using plant substances to stun fish
B. Fishing permitted a settled life.
C. Settled life favored agriculture
Origin of Vegeculture continued…
III.
Early vegetables were rich in starch
A.
Sweet potato and yam
B.
Taro
IV. Growing areas were incompletely cleared and
burned forests: Swiddens (temporary agricultural plots
cut from primary and secondary forests)
V.Early crops may not have been grown for food:
most probably for fiber and ceremonial purposes.
For Interest’s sake….
• Women in Agriculture
• The Human Past – Student Study
Guide Website – Go to Chapter 5 “The
World Transformed”