Chapter 5

agriculture

Agriculture is intensive crop cultivation, employing plows, fertilizers, and/or irrigation. Most researchers see the adoption of agriculture as the beginning of an overall decline in human health and welfare.

oasis theory

Also called the "Desiccation Theory," it was proposed by V. Gordon Childe. It suggests that there were environmental causes for the emergence of food production: When glaciers retreated north, the area of the Fertile Crescent became drier and forced people to congregate at water holes. Increased population and food scarcity pushed people to cultivate food in order to meet caloric needs.

: Why does the advent of agriculture bring about a decline in human health?

Because of rising population, close contact with animals, a sedentary lifestyle, declining diversity in food choices, and a rising fertility rate, human population sees a net decrease in health as a result of agriculture.

Natufian Subsistence

Between 12,000 and 6,000 years ago, this region experienced climate change involving dry summers significantly longer and hotter than today . As a result the Natufians were forced to modify their subsistence practices: They burned the landscape to promote browsing by deer and grazing by gazelles. They emphasized the collection of wild seeds from the annual plants that could be effectively stored to see people through the dry season.

The Neolithic and the Idea of Progress

Competition among settlements for resources led to increased mortality due to warfare. Sedentary life brought sanitation problems as garbage and human waste accumulated. The close association between humans and domestic animals allowed the transmission of some animal diseases to humans.

diffusion

Diffusion is the spread of certain ideas, customs, or practices from one culture to another. Once farming emerged, it was more or less guaranteed that it would spread to neighboring regions through migration and diffusion

Fertile Crescent

Evidence indicates that the earliest plant domestication took place gradually in the Fertile Crescent. Archaeological data suggest the domestication of rye as early as 13,000 years ago by people living at a site (Abu Hureyra) east of Aleppo, Syria. By 10,300 years ago, others in the region were also growing crops.

Food Production and Population (neolithic)

Increased dependence on farming and increased fertility seem to go hand in hand. Some possible explanations include: Soft foods decrease long-term breastfeeding. Children are assets on farms. High infant mortality encourages higher birth rates. Cultural practices support larger families. increase in family size (net pop)

Neolithic Revolution

This was called the "New Stone Age." The Neolithic Revolution was a prehistoric period beginning about 10,000 years ago in which peoples possessed stone-based technologies and depended on domesticated crops and/or animals for subsistence. humans began to pursue food production through the domestication of plants and animals. It had far-reaching effects on every aspect of our lives.

Neolithic Material Culture

Tool technology changed during the Neolithic: Stone that was too hard to be chipped was ground and polished for tools. People developed scythes, forks, hoes, and plows to replace digging sticks. There was extensive manufacture and use of pottery which requires knowledge of clay and techniques of firing and baking. Other technological developments included construction of permanent houses and the weaving of textiles

areas of Early domestication

Turkey, sunflower, squash- america Maize, bean, squash, cotton, cacao, turkey- mexico potato, tomato, peanut, gourd, manoic, bean llama- South America Coffee, millet, sorghum, kola nut, oil palm - mid Africa rice, banana, taro, yam, sugar cane, hemp, silkworm, fowl, pig -Asia

domestication

an evolutionary process whereby humans modify the genetic makeup of plants or animals, to the extent that members of the population are unable to survive and/or reproduce without human assistance

Horticulture

cultivation of crops carried out with simple hand tools such as digging sticks or hoes usually involves a small community of gardeners working with simple hand tools and using neither irrigation nor the plow

why choose food production

oasis theory

primary innovation

the creation, invention, or chance discovery of a completely new idea, method, or device

secondary innovation

the deliberate application or modification of an existing idea, method, or device

Vegeculture

typicroot crop farming ally involves growing many different species together in a single field tends to be more stable than seed crop cultivation because it approximates the complexity of the natural vegetation

Jericho as a neolithic settlement

Jericho was an early farming community in the Jordan River Valley of Palestine inhabited as early as 10,300 years ago. Crops could be grown almost continuously, due to the presence of a bounteous spring and the rich soils of an Ice Age lake that dried up 3,000 years earlier. To protect their settlement against floods and mudflows they built stone walls and a ditch. A village cemetery reflects a sedentary life. Evidence of trade includes obsidian and turquoise from Sinai as well as marine shells from the coast.

Natufian Culture

One of the early transitional cultures is the Natufian culture:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6bekl i_Tepe ⦿ They were a Mesolithic culture living in what are now Israel, Lebanon, and western Syria, between about 10,200 and 12,500 years ago. ⦿ They buried their dead in communal cemeteries. ⦿ They lived in caves, tock shelters, and small villages. ⦿ They were the earliest Mesolithic people known to store plant foods.

Environmental changes in the mesolithic period

Sea levels rose. Vegetation changed. Herd animals migrated into new areas.

The Neolithic and Human Biology

Skeletons from Neolithic villages show evidence of severe and chronic nutritional stress as well as pathologies related to infectious and deficiency diseases. High starch diets led to increased dental decay. Domestication encourages a sedentary lifestyle with the potential for overpopulation relative to the resource base.

domestication of corn

Teosinte, compared to 5,500-year-old maize, and modern maize. Domestication transformed teosinte into a highly productive food

Mesolithic Period

The "Middle Stone Age" that began about 12,000 years ago. ⦿ At the end of the glacial period, human habitats changed physically: ⦿ Sea levels rose, vegetation changed, and herd animals disappeared from many areas. ⦿ This period marked a shift to hunting smaller game and gathering a broad spectrum of plants and aquatic resources. ⦿ It was a more sedentary period with increased reliance on seafood and plants

Evidence of Early Domestication

The shift to rely on domesticated plants and animals took several thousand years: Plants were selected for increased size, loss of delayed seed germination, and reduction or loss of protective devices. In general, animals were selected for smaller horns and smaller overall body size.

Culture Change and Innovation

The source of all culture change is innovation. The two types of innovation are: primary innovation: secondary innovation: