The Origins of Farming

Definitions• Farming: The domestication of plants and

animals for human purposes• Domestication: The control of plant and animal

species for human benefit• Q: What were the consequences for plants and

animals?• A: They switched from being naturally selected

to culturally selected• Q: What plants or animals have we NOT been

able to domesticate?

What Needs to Happen for Farms to Work?

• Settlements-need people nearby to work on the farm, so homes are built

• Food-processing technologies: planting seeds, sowing and harvesting crops with special tools, grain has to be ground into flour, etc.

• Investment in landscape: Irrigation ditches, fences, cut down trees, soil needs tilling and fertilization, etc.

• Sense of pride in property: People invest a lot so they have a more developed sense of property

Plant Domestication

• Split into 2 groups and answer one of the following questions: – What do we get from

plants? – What do we not get

from plants (that we need)?

Plant Domestication

• Domesticated plants being harvested are bigger than their wild predecessors. Example: Corn on the Cob!

• Most domesticated plant species are easier to harvest than their wild predecessors. Example: We select for seeds that are easier to separate from the plant.

• What must farmers do to protect their crop, for example grain?

Animal Domestication

• In order to make it worth your money to domesticate animals, they must have:– A relatively good disposition with humans– A short life span with large numbers of

children– A flexible diet, because they must eat

whatever you give them– Smaller horns and other dangerous

structures– A little smaller than their wild counterparts

so that the offspring are easier to handle

Horticulture• Horticuluture: Many different

definitions, but it is basically a low-intensity form of domestication, and generally refers to farming on a smaller scale, with simpler technologies

• -Many refer to it as gardening, rather than intensive seeding and harvesting

• Horticulture preceded farming, but in many areas, it is still thriving today.

Horticulture vs. Farming

Horticulture

• Uses digging sticks

• Farm small plots and use simple irrigation.

• Domesticate plants that do not require long term storage

Farming

• Uses plows driven by power or animals

• Farm large areas of land

• Domesticate plants on a large-scale that require long-term storage

Slashing and Burning

• Slashing and burning is also known as shifting horticulture.

• It is the practice of clearing heavily vegetated land to make an agricultural field

• This land is then used from 1-5 years for harvest, and then you burn off the stubble

• You let the land lie for several years, as you move onto another section of land that has previously been used.

• Why would you do this?

Farming• More intense• Larger-scale• Domestication of plants

and animals• Practiced by people

living in civilizations• Also referred to as State

Farming

How Else is State Farming Different?

• It is intensified: larger fields, more crops, more technology

• It is systematized: the state regulates units of measure, approval of crops, and takes a cut in the form of taxes!

• It is economically integrated: the activities of the state and the citizens must adjust to accommodate the farming schedule

• It is commodified: farmers do not only grow staple foods, but also grow cash crops for export

Animal DomesticationAnimal Location Domesticated Date

Dog East Asia 15,000 BC

Sheep Western Asia and East 10, 000 BC

Cat Fertile Crescent Before 9,000 BC

Goat Western Asia and East 10, 000 BC

Pig Western Asia and East Be 9,000 BC

Cattle Western Asia and East 8, 000 BC

Guinea Pig Peru 3, 000 BC

Chicken South Asia 3, 000 BC

Horse Central Asia 5, 000 BC

Llama Peru 5, 000 BC

Donkey Egypt 5, 000 BC

Bactrian Camel Central Asia 5, 000 BC

Dromedary Camel Saudi Arabia 3, 000 BC

Yak East central Asia 3, 000 BC

Reindeer Northwest Asia (Siberia) 3, 000 BC

Turkey Mexico 2, 500 BC

Farming Facilities and Tools

• Granaries: for sorting harvested vegetal matter, such as dried grain

• Ovens: for cooking food

• Food-production yards: areas for separating seeds from plant cells, etc.

Early Farming Tools

• Sickles: for harvesting plant matter, blades made of stone, bone, or antler

• Pottery: for storage and cooking vegetal foods

• Mortar and pestle: for grinding/pounding vegetal foods to small pieces or powder

• Threshing tools: for separating the seeds from the plant

• Axes: for clearing forested areas to convert it to farmland

Secondary Products• After humans started

domesticating plants and animals for food, they started to domesticate them for secondary products as well

• Secondary products: non-food resources

• Can you think of any secondary products we get from plants?

Secondary Products• Fibers-to make wool and cotton• Machine-pulling and transportation-use the

animals to help you on the farm!• Plant tissue-to make writing paper• Plant extracts-to make medicines, adhesives,

pigments, etc. • Milk-to make butter or cheese, does not require

killing the animal, so its considered secondary• Blood-animal blood has nutritional value: The

Maasi of Eastern Africa mix it with milk to make a rich froth

Why Farm in the First Place?

• The population pressure theory argues that as populations increased after the ice ages, population pressures forced people to devise new ways of making a living. However, foraging populations are very careful not to allow their populations to grow to a size that the landscape can not sustain.

• The climate change theory argues that as climates changed after the last ice age, humans invented new ways to survive, including a shift from foraging to domesticating. However, this theory still does not explain why they invented it...

In the East• The world’s first domestication seems

to have taken place in a region called the Fertile Crescent of the Near East, from Israel up to Turkey, across to Iraq. This was about 12, 000 years ago.

• They domesticated wheat and barley, and goats and sheep (rather than antelope and deer)

• Eventually, they domesticated wheat, barley, peas, chickpeas, lentils, fava beans, carrots, beets, safflower, olives, figs, and dates.

In Africa

• The domestication of plants, and some animals, occurred in Africa about 7,000-10,000 years ago.

• They domesticated wheat, wild aurochs into cattle, sorghum, millet, tef, cow pea, oil parms, watermelon, and okra.

In East Asia• People were cultivating

wild rice 9,000 years ago• Today, rice supplies about

20% of the world’s calories• Also domesticated pigs,

chickens, cattle, dogs, and ducks

• Plants include apricots, peaches, cucumbers, sesame, radishes, turnips, canola, tea, and water chestnuts

In the Western Pacific• By 10,000 years ago, the people of New Guinea were

cultivating several plants, including taro and bananas. • Major Western Pacific domesticates include breadfruit,

yam, coconut, banana, dogs, pigs, chickens, grapefruit, mango, lemon, cloves, and arrowroot

In the Americas• First domesticated corn, squash, and sunflowers

10,000 years ago.• Agriculture in Mexico is only 5,000 to 7,000 years old• Other domesticates in the Americas include llamas,

turkeys, beans, peppers, mint, chiles, and the potato (which was taken back to the “Old World” after conquistadores discovered it in the 16th century