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History of AgriculturalDevelopment

Lecture 1

AGST 3000Agriculture, Society and the

Natural World


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History of Agriculture


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Hesoids 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- gatherer99% of our existance B. Eden-like preagricultural

II. Silver Age (8,000 B.C.)A. Concept of work bornB. Symbolized by the Yoke of Oxen

III. Bronze Age (3,500 B.C.)A. Trade developed

IV. Iron Age (1,500-600 B.C.)


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Agriculture, Energy, and Civilization

Earths carrying capacity for hunter -gatherers estimated at 20-30million. Today ?

(6.7 Bil)

Agricultural and the first culturalrevolutions developed symbiotically.

Solar energy (harvested throughphotosynthesis) fueled theagricultural revolution.

Fossil fuels drove the industrialrevolution.


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Use of these basic energy sourcesstimulated cultural, social, and civildevelopment.

Mechanization/fossil-fuels increased

capacity to produce food whilereducing labor, but also increasedenvironmental degradation andsocial conflict.

Agrarian societies viewed children aseconomic assets (large familieswere necessary for survival).

Agriculture, Energy, and Civilizationcontinued


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A Catch 22 developed:

A. More people require more food

B. Requiring more intensive agriculture

C. Requiring more energy to produce food

D. Leading to more environmental degradation(particularly soil erosion)

E. Leading to crop failure

F. Leading to starvation

G. Leading to migration to new lands

H. Requiring more people to produce food



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Demographic transition rising population with shrinking

resources.

What about todaywhat arethe resources that areshrinking?



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Transition fromHunting-Gathering to Agriculture

Human population growth rate increased slowly:A. .0007-.0020 % /yr. Pleistocene ageB. .1 % /yr. Neolithic

C. 1-2 % /yr. Present day

Low birth rate attributed to lifestyle of hunter-gatherer not food scarcity.

Not ignorance of plant growth, but lack of needto practice agriculture prevented earlierdevelopment of agriculture.


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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% moreprotein than current domestic wheat) in anhour

In Mexico, an 11- day supply of wild corn (teosinte) could be gathered in 3.5 hours

In Wisconsin, Ojibwa Indians could fill theircanoes with wild rice in a few hours.

Transition fromHunting-Gathering to Agriculture


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Man simultaneously developedagriculture worldwide 10,000years ago, after the last IceAgesuggests that climatechanges contributed to thecultivation of plants.

Transition from Hunting-Gathering to Agriculturecontinued


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Huntergathererssettled insmall

communitiesin the FertileCrescent, anarrow bandof landarcingacross theNear East.


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Indus Valley between India and Pakistan


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India


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Also SouthAmerica,thetropicalcoast of Ecuadorsquash


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and Chinarice

on theYangtze


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Also North America and Mesoamerica ( The Mayahomeland, called Mesoamerica, spans fivecountries: Mexico , Guatemala , Belize , Honduras ,and El Salvador .
http://www.greenarrow.com/maya.htmhttp://www.greenarrow.com/maya2.htmhttp://www.greenarrow.com/belize/archao.htmhttp://www.greenarrow.com/maya2.htmhttp://www.greenarrow.com/salvador/sattracthttp://www.greenarrow.com/salvador/sattracthttp://www.greenarrow.com/maya2.htmhttp://www.greenarrow.com/belize/archao.htmhttp://www.greenarrow.com/maya2.htmhttp://www.greenarrow.com/maya.htm


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New evidence suggests that peoplecultivated rye over 13,000 years ago, whilecontinuing to hunt animals and gather wildplants in the Fertile Crescent.

Suggests this is a long development processand not an all or nothing scenario.

Hunter-gatherers turn to agriculture only asa last resort when population pressureforces them to acquire more food onavailable space.

Transition from Hunting-Gathering to Agriculturecontinued


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Seed Culture in the Old World

I. Seed culture originated in driersubtropics of both hemispheres (8,000-10,000 years ago)

A. Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (FertileCrescent)

B. Indus River Northern India and

PakistanC. Huang Ho (Yellow River-Yangtze) Northern China


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II. Irrigation and long term food storagewas required higher degree of socialorganization required.

III. Major civilizations built in regions of seed culture.

A. Food was potentially abundantB. Great effort required to obtain food

Seed Culture in the Old World continued


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VII. Seed culture developed most rapidly in

ecologically diverse regions.

A. Earliest village farming community inwestern Iran (wheat, barley, anddomestic animals)

B. Provide a rich diversity of plantmaterials

VIII. Cultivation of grains pre-datedcultivation of fruits by several thousandyears.

A. More permanent settlement requireddue to long term nature of fruit crops.



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IX. As seed cultures moved from highlandsto valleys

A. Irrigation developedB. Tillage systems developedC. Selection of varieties improved

X. Four species of beans - navy, kidney,lima, and peanuts

XI. Squash first developed for edible seeds



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IV. Cereal grains were early crops

A. Wet-dry season requirements

B. Large seed(endosperm) to resistdrought/support rapid growthduring brief wet periods.

V. Ancestral cereals were attractive weeds

VI. Domesticated seed crops have shown adisability to compete with weeds.



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Ancestral Wheat and Barley


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Seed Culture in the New World

I. Earliest seed culture practiced in TehuacanValley- Southern Mexico

A. Corn, beans, squash, pumpkins,peppers, avocados

B. Semi-arid area surrounded byfoothills and mountains withincreasing level of precipitation

II. Corn was difficult to domesticate and therewere no herd animals to domesticate.

III. Crops dictated cultural evolution?


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IV. Some people believe that the cultural gapbetween peoples of two hemispheres wasdue to adaptability of native plants andanimals.

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 weedgrowth

Seed Culture in the New Worldcontinued


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Origin of Vegeculture

I. Vegeculture probably began in thetropics, most commonly in lowlandareas.

II. Early fisherman probably practicedfirst agriculture.

A. Using plant substances to stun fishB. Fishing permitted a settled life.C. Settled life favored agriculture


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III. Early vegetables were rich in starchA. Sweet potato and yamB. Taro

IV. Growing areas were incompletelycleared and burned forests: Swiddens(temporary agricultural plots cut fromprimary and secondary forests)

V. Early crops may not have been grownfor food: most probably for fiber andceremonial purposes.

Origin of Vegeculture continued


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End of Presentation.Journal

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