Native Americans And Their Influence In Agriculture

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.

Agriculture has long been the foundation of economy and society, especially during the time as early as in the Middle Ages. As the foundation of agriculture, corn production was the most important agricultural activity at the time.

The impact of the development of agriculture on Native American society is that it brought prosperity and stability. Also that these economic development fostered the development of permanent settlements.

Farming is a common agriculture source of Native Americans. They farmed maize, beans and wheat. To improve their farming, both areas, created an elaborate irrigation system. Aztecs, Incas, Hohokams were remarkable for their irrigation system.

The development of agriculture by Native Americans more than five thousand years ago sparked new cultures and innovations. Hunters who previously roamed the land like nomads established permanent villages. Corn, sun, and water became focal points for many societies and played

a. The cultivation of maize, introduced heavily by sophisticated civilizations such as the Incas, Mayans, and Aztecs, helped to feed large population sizes, thus facilitating the spread of its cultivation across North America. By 2000 BCE, Pueblo peoples, due to the new cultivation of maize, developed irrigation systems. By 1000 CE, maize reached to modern-day SE America, which influenced Creek, Choctaw, and Cherokee peoples by growing and feeding their populations.

Maize was the basis of the feeding of pre-Columbian civilizations. It is very probable that these societies would not have developed without corn, because they supported and made possible the growth of its population in that cereal.

However, the Spaniards brought things over such as Horses and cattle. By having cows and oxen the agriculture was able to boom. These animals made it easier to produce more crops, while at the same time helping the indigenous people save energy. These large animals were able to make the work easier while at the same time increase output. The Spaniards brought over wheat, barley, various fruits and vegetables, olive oil, and wine. The most overlooked thing brought, were slaves. Slaves brought a huge need for labor while at the same time provided diversity.

The Aztecs, just like any living being needed food to survive. Agriculture provided food since it was the practice of farming and became crucial. The Aztec farmers did not only grow food for themselves, but also enough for their entire cities, like Tenochtitlan (Doc B). This played a major role in trade and the economy. The farmers used Chinampas which were small mounds of land that were very fertile ( they are still being used today in Mexico City) to farm. Agriculture did not only help the Aztec people but also many people that they traded with. Agriculture helped the Aztecs develop and expand as a civilization/empire. This is why agriculture should be

Agriculture served as the material foundation for the natives. Corn was the heart of this foundation because it was so versatile. In

science, made discoveries with regards to the life of agriculture, or just plants in general. The

Cows and oxen made cultivation thrive. It was easier to harvest more crops and salvage energy. They imported barley, numerous fruits and vegetables, wheat, olive oil and wine. They also brought slaves because of a vast demand of labor.

In some societies, there are what seem to be small aspects of that society that create huge impacts on the social, economic and technological development of that society. For the people of Ohio, corn is an example of one such aspect. Even before the arrival of the Europeans, corn played a crucial role in the progress of the civilizations of early Ohio. These people chose to import their food source, rather than use homegrown sources. Their choice to use corn as a crop had serious ramifications on the economy and public health of these pre-european civilizations in Ohio. After the arrival of the Europeans, corn became more and more important in the lives of Ohioans. Many different areas in Ohio experienced rapid technological and economic development

Eventually, tractors came along and field sizes grew. Crop size is one thing, but what was planted during this transitional time is

They built thousands of structures, from small dwellings to massive pueblos and enormous mounds, permanently altering the landscape. Their gathering techniques selected productive and nutritious varieties of plants, thereby shifting the balance of local plants toward useful varieties. The first stages of North American agriculture, for example, probably involved Native Americans gathering wild seeds and then sowing them in a meadow for later harvest. It is almost certain that fertile and hardy varieties of corn were developed this way, first in Mesoamerica and later in North America. To clear land for planting corn, native North Americans set fires that burned off thousands of acres of