Methods of Domestication Used in Near East and Mesoamerica

Early farmers in Europe and elsewhere practiced shifting cultivation, also known as swidden agriculture.Although the lands around the Mediterranean seem to have shared a complex of crops and farming techniques, geographical barriers blocked the spread elsewhere. Rainfall patterns south of the Sahara favored locally domesticated grains—sorghums, millets, and (in Ethiopia) teff—over wheat and barley. In the Americas a decline of game animals in the Tehuacán° Valley of Mexico after 8000 B.C.E. increased people’s dependence on wild plants. Agriculture based on maize (corn) developed there about 3000 B.C.E. and gradually spread. The first domesticated animal, the dog, may have helped hunters track game well before the Neolithic period. Later, animals initially provided meat but eventually supplied milk, wool, and energy as well.Meat eating did not decline during the revolution.

The emergence of agriculture was a major stepping stone in human history. During this birth of agriculture, also known as the Neolithic revolution, humans began inhabiting permanent settlements, grow their own crops, and domesticate both plants and animals for food (Weisdorf, 2005). Considering humans have been hunter-gatherers for the majority of their approximately 7 million years of existence, the emergence of agriculture in the Old World only occurring 10,000-5,000 years ago, marks a significant transformation in food sustenance techniques (Weisdorf, 2005). However, this turning point in history is associated with both positive and negative implications. There is much controversy over whether or not the introduction of

Given that, the Mayan regions displayed a different variety of soil fertility and localized weather patterns that affected the circumstances for agriculture to many different portions of areas around the southern regions of Mesoamerica. (139) In fact, farmers, who currently cultivate as the similar system the Mayans practiced and lives in parts of ancient southern regions of Mesoamerica, announced that soils in the area will naturally diminish over the years in productivity, fertility, and crop yields. (139) With the attention of the growing Mayan population, the Mayan people were in need of retaining the food demand of the Mayan population by cultivating in the remaining lands near their regions that are enriched in soil. With this in mind to the naturally constant changing of the soils, the Mayans enforced to cut down the time of fallow for their fields which eventually be in high risk strategy in resulting in a cultivation catastrophe for temporary ends. (139) Altogether, the Mayan population and the effectiveness of their agriculture may determine the situation for the Mayan people to their long term

Farmers in the middle east adapted certain wild grasses into domesticated grains called emmer wheat and barley. They also discovered that alternating the crops grains and pulses helped the soil keep its fertility. As domesticated plants from the Middle East spread to other regions, there were other places that independently rose agriculturally. The places that agriculture developed on its own is Mesopotamia (5500 BCE), Egypt (3300 BCE), Indus Valley (2300 BCE), China (2200 BCE), Andes (1500 BCE), and Central America (1250 BCE). The exchange of farming techniques happened between regions, but societies who had already settled borrowed more readily than newer

The most significant development during the Neolithic Era was the development of agriculture. This occurred approximately 10,000 years ago in human history. Humans began to domesticate animals and engage in selective breeding. With the end of the Ice Age, new plants became available and were cultivated to provide a more stable food source than hunting and gathering. Humans began to domesticate plants as well. "People had long observed wild plants as they gathered

The transition to farming was a turning point in human history since people who remained hunter/gatherers couldn’t produce food as quickly as farmers, and couldn’t produce food that could be stored for a long period of time. Instead of roaming to search different locations for food, farming allowed them to drop seeds in soil that grow next to their

The “Factors Underlying the Broadcast Pattern of History” chart shows the spreading and domesticating of plants and animals and the pros and cons of it on civilization. I agree with the author that when you have domesticated animals in the civilization food storage and surpluses; large dense, sedentary, stratified societies with political

After 11,000 B.C., technology in the Fertile Crescent developed immensely. Inventions including flint blades for harvesting, baskets and containers for collecting crops, and underground storage pits made it possible for food production to occur. “These cumulative developments constituted the unconscious first steps of plant domestication” (Diamond 111). Utilizing the further geographical advantage of rich soil, people of the Fertile Crescent leapt into the world of food production. Food production, in turn, yielded large food surpluses stored in baskets, allowing the society to move toward a sedentary lifestyle and a more organized, specialized community. Simple agricultural tool advancements led to a

Response- Humans started agriculture in the Neolithic time. When humans found out that they can plant they started to evolve. More ideas started to grow and finally humans figured out that they can make technology people switched from farming to making things and trading for new stuff .which caused the change in human lifestyles.

What are the 5 areas of independent domestication of plants (food production)? 10. What are the 4 areas that are possible sites of independent domestication of plants? 11. What 3-4 other areas received "founder packages" from Southwest Asia? CHAPTER 6: To Farm or Not to Farm 12. Why did hunter-gatherers evolve to become farmers in some areas and not in others? CHAPTER 7: How to Make an Almond 13. What does "plant domestication" mean? 14. Why is it important to understand when and why people became farmers? 15. What made some plants easier and more attractive to domesticate than others?

It is possible that a social hierarchy was created when such densely packed communities were created, as now human interaction became all the more important, as the relationships between neighbors, and social groups would most likely create tension in the situation. It was also during the time of the Early neolithic in which the first clues of plant domestication began to appear. Though it was the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period in which domesticated crops including wheat, barley, lentil, peas, and legumes were found. These domesticated grains showed an increase in size and durability . Animal domestication was quick to follow, as Sheep were found to be domesticated in Turkey, Iraw, and Iran, while the reduction in size of the animals, and the discovery of the animals outside their habitat became common finds. Finally, it was during the Late Neolithic period in which a reduction in the number of large villages across the Middle East began. We can see the shift toward a way of life focused on the grazing of domesticated animals, as villages began to shrink, and the population became once again scattered across the land. It was also during this period in which a decline in the role of hunting for subsistence became apparant, as well as Late Neolithic societies reliance on plants that were domesticated during the Early Neolithic periods. We can see from this that the origin of agriculture in Europe came from the usage of Middle Eastern

One of the many things that defined the Paleolithic Age was the small population growth as Nomadic hunter-gatherer groups consisting of 20-30 people were constantly migrating and following their prey. Around 10,000 BCE, humans began to cultivate crops such as wheat and barley; marking the beginning of farming. Farming was essential because not only did it enhance the way of living but it also lead to important advancements that serve as the fundamentals of many civilizations todays such as utilizing methods of irrigation and food storage as well as the construction of houses. Humans also began employing, or domesticating, animals for benefits aside from their previous, traditional use.

The rise of food production in the Fertile Crescent was made possible by the Mediterranean climate.  In contrast, Mesoamerica, New Guinea, and the Eastern US were limited in the available large seed grasses, domestic able animals, edible pulses, and high protein domestic plants. Arrival of appropriate founder sort speed up the food production where suitable plants were previously lacking.  Local inhabitants routinely master their local ethno biology (thus few domestications have occurred in modern times).  However, there can be reactionary populations resisting change.  Of 200,000 wild plants, only about 200 have been domesticated for consumption, and 12 species account for 80% of world food tonnage.

Plant domestication leads to a major difference in society because it permits the members of that society to reproduce, form permanent societies, and create a bureaucratic society ( also gives the ability to tax). For example, “ by collecting huge quantities of wild cereals in a short time when the seeds were ripe,and storing them for use as food through the rest of the year, some hunting-gathering people of the Fertile Crescent had already settled down in permanent villages even before they began to cultivate plants.) ( pg 131)

The civilizations that had the most of these domesticable animals advanced faster than others because of the advantages they provided. For an animal to be successfully domesticated for agriculture, it requires traits like a solid social structure with a hierarchy so a human can take control of its pack. It also has to reproduce quickly and have an inclusive diet to be farmed efficiently without forsaking too many resources toward it. Southwestern areas of the Middle East like the Fertile Crescent had many of these domesticable animals, leading the inhabitant people to become some of the first in history to farm them. These animals revolutionized life for people who domesticated them in many ways such as horses pulling heavy plows effectively for planting, sheep providing warm clothing for people to explore and expand into colder climates, and cows providing nourishment in the form of milk and meat. All of these advantages over other civilizations in the field of agriculture contributed greatly to the inequality of the world, especially since places like New Guinea had no domesticable animals until very late in