1. What were the consequences of the Agricultural Revolution? – There was a sudden increase in social complexity manifested most strikingly in the emergence of cities. (pg.10)
2. What are the cereal grains and what food and drink was produced from them? - The cereal grains are grains that contain tiny granules of starch, and when placed in hot water they absorb moisture and then burst, releasing starch. A thick porridge, a thin broth, gruel, and beer could be made from cereal grains. (pg. 12, 13)
3. What is the archeological evidence that supports the cultivation, harvesting, storage and processing of cereal grains? – The archaeological evidence was a flint-bladed sickle for harvesting grain, a woven basket for carrying cereal grains, stone hearths for drying the grains, underground pits for storing grains, and grindstones for making them. This is the archeological evidence that supports this. (pg.13)
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Explain two discoveries early farmers made about cereal grains. – The first discovery was that when the grain was soaked in water it started to sprout and taste sweet. It prompted the development of deliberate malting techniques, when the grain was first soaked then dried. The second discovery was that when gruel was left sitting around for a couple of days it became slightly fizzy and intoxicating. The wild yeasts from air fermented the sugar which formed the gruel into alcohol. It is now beer. (pg.14)
5. Farming led to surpluses. Explain the developments that occurred as a result of a food surplus. – It freed some of the members of the society from the need to produce food and enabling them to specialize in particular activities and crafts, which sets humanity on the path to the modern world. This happened first in the Fertile Crescent, as people began cultivating barley and wheat, rather than gathering wild grains for consumption and storage.
Some theories suggest that the Neolithic revolution brought about the formation of the state and civilization (Childe, 1950). A highly discussed theory, called the Urban Revolution theory, examines the transition from village to state following the implementation of agriculture (Childe, 1950). This theory suggests that agriculture allowed the production of excess food, also referred to as surplus, and because of this surplus farming communities were able to allow a few individuals to part time specialize in skills and crafts unrelated to food production (Childe, 1950). As agricultural technology progressed, farming communities were able to produce greater crop yields which allowed some individuals to be completely rid of any food procurement responsibilities (Childe, 1950). This allowed certain people to fully specialize in a profession and take on roles such as merchants, public figures, or as religious figures (Childe, 1950).
The replacement of the idle fallow with crops constituted the Agricultural Revolution. It was important because the new types of crops made allowed farmers to feed their animals more, which led to a greater amount of meat and improved diets. It had the greatest effect in England and the Low Countries.
In addition to agriculture success, new technological advancements came from crop exchangement. New farming equipment , such as the plow, improved the New World’s economy and health. This technology advancement is important because it allowed a large area of land to be cultivated at a time, speeding up the farming process. This enabled towns to be developed around farms from crops being grown at a faster rate and land that could now be cultivated.
Diamond explains that our worst mistake was the transition from hunter-gathers to farmers. Diamond believes that humans were better off chasing our food rather than planting it due to the consequences that followed after such a dramatic change of life. His reasoning expands further out than one might think of about this subject. He talks about the social changes that were created when agriculture began. Diamond spews empowering points that leave a reader pondering if he is correct. People are only sure of how the world is now but the possibilities are endless on what our world could have been if agriculture had not begun.
The revolution is surrounded by many inventions including fertilizers and pesticides. It is through these innovations that developed countries were able to feed their people (Standage, 199). As Standage refers to it, feeding the world. Standage's descriptions of this revolution clearly indicate that developed countries achieved what they have by feeding their people first. As such, food can be used for the betterment of the nation. Through the book, the writer focuses on the impacts of agriculture on various aspects of a human's life. The main audience seems to be the people (leaders) who have the role in making and implementing food
7.) Comparison - In what different ways did the Agricultural Revolution take shape in various part of the world?
2. The land hunger changed because the people who originally fought for the land eventually had many generations live on that same land, and they would already be accustomed to having plenty of land to live on which prompted the decrease in hunger for land. The land hunger changed to a hunger of money and crops no longer were a source of food, it was profit to be used for selling and for interest. The change to money hunger created less small farms and more large farms because as the demand of people becoming better storekeepers, than they were farmers, if they were not good businessmen then they would loose their land to the good storekeepers. Eventually the few best storekeepers arose and they would acquire large amounts of land over time, which led to the decrease in small farms and an increase in large farms.
Maize is a wild plant and was discovered by Indians. It belongs to the same grass family as barley, rye, rice, wheat, and oats. When the Pilgrims landed in North America in 1620, the Indians gave them maize to eat. They also showed the Pilgrims how to grow maize. The Pilgrims called the maize “corn”, which mean grains and Americans still call it corn today. The word corn has a different meaning depending on what country you are in. According to the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University, corn in England means wheat and in Scotland and Ireland, it means barley or oats (www.agron.iastate.edu). By drawing on documents and reports from the Pre Columbian American era, I plan to discuss how corn was discovered, the importance of it, and how it was used by Pre Columbian Americans.
The stalks and the cobs were used for fuel; the young corn was used for fresh vegetables the older corn was grounded into flour. Native Americans do not believe in was ,they believe it is disrespectful and sinful against god, an Mother Earth a waste of the gifts and blessing generously given by them. When the Pilgrim’s arrived in the Americas their supplies ran out quickly and they soon found themselves in need of food warm clothing with winter fast approaching. The native born people soon approached a befriended the pilgrims. When the so called Pilgrims who were actually criminal, miscreants, and the seedy part of society, the unwanted of England, they noticed that the Native Americans were kind in spirit and generous in heart. They proceeded teach the Pilgrims how to build a shelter, that would protect them from the elements, they taught them how to find and prepare different vegetables especially corn so that they would not starve to death over the winter. An in return they gave the Natives smallpox and STD’s and they started dropping like flies dying because of good deeds. Corn saved the Pilgrims lives and in appreciation the Natives
The history of corn could be dated back to the beginning of time, but the use and value of corn had been unnoticed until it was introduce by the Native Americans. Where corn had seemed to be a big part of their everyday life from, being in myths, legends, and a huge portion of their diet consisted of corn. " when the Europeans had arrived to the New World during the late fifteenth century, they had learned that the unknown cereal that had been a mystery to them for a long period of time was actually called maize by the indigenous people, this crop was then later on grown and adapted from Canada to southern South America very quickly, which then began to form the new basis of the New World civilization" (textbook). The way corn has been
I don't believe the Agricultural Revolution was a mistake because with out it we wouldn't of learned about infectious diseases and parasites, along with significance of diets, and the importance of storing food. Back than they did not have refrigeration or proper canning techinques but from this we were able to learn that if you store food you can keep it for longer periods of time instead of eating the food the same day it was collected. Also from understanding about proper storing techniques we were able to learn more about diseases. Many farmers would loose their crops to diseases spread by insects or the soil. Now we know to spray pesticides and grow crops during their specific growing season to help prevent diseases. For example corn is
10,000 years ago, broomtail millet (Panicum miliaceum) became domesticated in North China. This area was cold and dry, so it was perfect for millet, which thrives at an average of 6 - 10℃ and a mean annual 350 - 550 millimeters of rain
Indigenous to the Western hemisphere, corn has traveled all around the world being the center of religious practices, cuisine, and today drives food production, but the exact origin of this miracle vegetable is uncertain. Reported by National Geographic’s David Braun, corn was developed and cultivated somewhere in central Mexico over 8,700 years ago. Maize, another name for corn, was not found naturally in the wild, but came about due to the domestication of a variety of similar species from the ancient Native Americans. Corn derived from the teosinte plant, which is a wild grass containing kernels smaller than modern day corn. According to an article in The New York Times, during the 20th century few scientists could confirm the relation between teosinte and corn, but in the 1930’s, Dr. George W. Beadle conducted many genetic experiments with the two plants and discovered that they had very similar chromosomes. Beadle concluded that the two plants were members of the same species, with maize being the domesticated form of teosinte (Carroll).
An agricultural society provides the opportunity to develop the proximate factors because these societies allow for greater population densities. Since not everyone has to farm to support themselves, there’s room for people of different skills and crafts to work. The surpluses of food allowed for more craft to be developed, allowing for a technologically innovative and politically
When societies began farming, food surpluses were often developed. This caused an urgency to develop proper food storage so food could be kept until needed. These surpluses meant that societies would always hold enough food to feed everyone, so that no one would starve or be forced to skip meals. With proper food storage, food could be kept longer than it had been until this point. Again, though, for each of these positive results of agriculture there is a negative one to counterbalance it.