The establishment of any civilization relies on the foundation of agriculture. Agriculture requires knowledge, tools, and resources to maintain a population and allow for it to grow. Agriculture drastically changed once humans were able to utilize the resources around them in order to provide a reliable food supply, allow them to settle down in one place, and most importantly, provide a springboard for global population growth. Agriculture was triggered by many factors, some including climate change, population pressure, and social competition. Farming had become more productive than foraging. China is a one of the earliest societies that developed a system of agriculture that was able to sustain a large population. China used …show more content…
Using data provided by Robert Marks, the Chinese had a net productivity of 9.75 quintals per hectare while the slash and burn system only had a net productivity of 2 quintals per hectare. The reason the Chinese were more productive was because they were able to use all the land year round. The fertile soil of South and North China and high adaptable crops that were able to sustain themselves allowed this to happen. The Chinese supported a population density of around 385 people per square kilometer. Technological advancements that took place during the Bronze Age also played a major reason in how China was able to support their agricultural system. Technology was a way for humans to interact with and transform the environment as they sought to use energy to sustain themselves. Bronze, copper, and tin were abundant metals in China. The use of bronze to create new tools for agricultural use allowed for the Chinese to keep up their way of life. Since the Chinese were able to use all the land all the time, they had a surplus of goods. Therefore, people were able to specialize in other forms of labor. The Chinese states having large supplies of workers helped them develop a large-scale bronze industry ( Marks 41). More productive farming methods led to “extensive commercialization, and by the widespread use of money and written contracts” allowed for the population to grow even larger ( Elvin 7). The Chinese knowledge on how to replenish nutrients back
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
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 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
The start of agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution led directly to the beginning of civilization. The Neolithic Revolution, which happened 10,000 years ago, was the shift from hunter-gathers to a food-producing culture meaning humans started to farm and domesticate animals. This was the catalyst to help create civilizations. We know now how to distinguish groups of humans from actual civilization if those groups have certain characteristics. Those characteristics are complex institutions, record keeping, advanced cities, specialized workers, and advanced technology. A result of the Neolithic Revolution is that more people were able to thrive since there was a surplus of food. These early civilizations were able to take advantage of the rivers and create irrigation systems to water their crops.
Since the beginning of human development humans have been revolving around agriculture. It is known that, “Archaeologists and palaeontologists have traced the origins of farming to around 10,000 years ago” (Mason). This is truly remarkable to believe that the revolution as a whole may pivot on this period so long ago. Once this happened agriculture began popping up all around the ancient world spreading like wildfire. This planting of crops and domestication of animals allowed people to develop specialization because not everyone had to forage anymore. This allowed
Humanity adapted to agriculture in the Neolithic Era; man began to plant crops instead wandering around and gathering. Farming made it easier for humans to control their food supply. Another impact to adapting to agriculture, was that it made people decide to settling down permanently, which led to the creation of villages. Furthermore,
Agriculture is the main reason we have civilization today, for without food surplus people would spend their days finding food and water constantly. Native Americans started like all other people in the world, doing just that, until over time they turned food production into an art. Without the elaborate specialization of crops over time, people would not have reached the point that they had before the Europeans had arrived. The allowance of food surplus led to the ability to advance culturally, scientifically, and economically.
It is a known fact that the way humans produce food is not sustainable for a bright future. Here in America we discard almost half the amount of food we produce, which could be used to feed the enormous amount of starving people in the world. Not only are we being wasteful, but we are also greatly contributing to the amount of pollution and greenhouse gases because of our practices. After reading “What’s for supper?” my eyes were further opened to how damaging our agricultural system is and inspired me to take on a “greener” lifestyle.
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
Agriculture was the main focus passed on from the Yuan dynasty to the Chinese. Economically, this was major the Chinese because it took their attention away from animal husbandry and reorganized the land. The water transport created a secure way to farm. This led to a surplus of food, which allowed farming to be recognized as
First, agriculture played a key role in Old Western Europe and the Americas throughout time. Agriculture was able to unite or destroy a civilization through labor, trading of goods, and development of new ideas. Unfair labor and lack of goods could destroy a society because of hunger and revolts. Division of labor was significant because it formed a social structure that
A major driving force towards agriculture was the rapidly increasing population size dilemma that humans faced. Increasing population size was a critical reason why agriculture soon would replace hunting and gathering since that alone would not be able to sustain the growing population size. Thus, agriculture allowed for massive productions of food, resulting in an abundance of food. This abundance of food was stored meaning if one year the cultivation season didn’t produce sufficient nutriment due to any casual factors, the masses would still be able to survive on the food that was produced the year before. Unlike agriculture, hunting and gathering didn’t allow for this to happen since, they only hunted and gathered, as they needed in that specific moment. Additionally, another reason for the beginning of farming is politics. The distribution of food was
China’s booming economic growth over the past forty or so years is one of the most impressive events to happen in the global economy. The economic transformation of this country is unlike any other transformation. China was by far the most economically and technologically advanced nation almost a millennium ago. However, it started to fall behind in economic growth compare to Western Europe during the time of 1500 and 1800. This paper will examine China’s economic development through the stages of the demographic transition model and its post-transition conditions. In addition, some of the implication of the ageing population has on the continuing development of the country’s economy will be addressed.
Without the rise of agriculture, numerous societies may not have been able to feed their people, and therefore may have died out before reaching modern times. The rise of agriculture not only increased the life expectancy of societies, it also increased the volume of food produced, necessitating the development of food storage.
Agriculture is a vital part of society, and Agribusiness is of course the business behind it. While agricultural needs were different in ancient times, farming was always necessary. With agriculture came the domestication of plants and animals. This domestication allowed the human civilization to flourish. With time, new technologies and lifestyles changed the course of agriculture.