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T3/20/12

The Origins of Agriculture

(Ch. 10.1)

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I. Origins of Agriculture

Agriculture = deliberate modification of Earth’s surface through the cultivation of plants and/or rearing of animals

Cultivate = “to care for” Crop = any plant cultivated by people

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I. Origins of Agriculture (cont.)

A. Hunter-gatherers Before farming humans obtained food through hunting,

fishing, or gathering plants, berries, nuts, fruits, roots. earliest groups of people

small nomadic tribes (~50 ppl.) division of labor by gender

Men= hunters and fishers Women= collectors of berries, nuts, and roots

Could take hours, could take days Perhaps 250,000 remaining today (less than 0.005%)

Spinifex (Pila Nguru) - Great Victorian Desert in Australia Sentinelese - Andaman Islands in India Bushmen - Kalihari Desert in Botswana & Namibia

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I. Origins of Agriculture (cont.) B. Invention of agriculture

earliest roots are unclear; diffused from many hearths (map 10-2) Southwest Asia= barley, wheat ~ 10,000 years ago

Lentils and olives Central Asia= rice ~ 10,000 years ago along Yangtze River Sub-Saharan Africa= Millet and Rice independent of Asia Mexico= beans, corn and cotton ~4,000-5,000 years ago Peru= Potato, corn ~4,000-5,000 years ago Southeast USA= squashes, corn

domestication of animals (map 10-3) also differs by place & region

Southwest Asia= cattle, goats, pigs, sheep, and dogs b/w 8,000 and 9,000 years ago

Central Asia= horses

Integrating the cultivation of crops with domestication of herd animals

Southwest Asia= animals used to prepare the land before planting

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Crop Hearths

Figure 10-2

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Animal Hearths

Figure 10-3

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II. Subsistence & Commercial Agriculture

Subsistence = produced mainly for the farm family’s survival Most common in LDCs

Commercial = produced mainly for sale off the farm Most common in MDCs

Derwent Whittlesley research in 1936 11 regions

climate vs. culture careful to avoid environmental determinism culture plays strong role (i.e., pork in Middle East)

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Agriculture and Climate

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II. Subsistence & Commercial Agriculture Five characteristics distinguish commercial from subsistence

agriculture A. Purpose of farming

personal vs. mass consumption B. Percentage of farmers in the labor force

usually higher in LDC’s, but more land in MDC’s MDC= 5% of workers directly engaged LDC= 50% of workers directly engaged

C. Use of machinery begins in late 18th C. Machinery used to be all wood, not all-iron Tractors, combines, corn pickers, planters, replace

manual/animal labor continues to have impact on efficiency Science and farming

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II. Subsistence & Commercial Agriculture

Five characteristics (cont.) D. Farm size

average farms are large in MDC’s 5% of farms make up 75% of U.S. production still 98% of commercial farms are family owned & operated steady loss of prime agricultural land due to urban sprawl

E. Relationship of farming to other businesses development of agribusiness farmers only 2% of workers in U.S., but 20% of labor force

works in food production

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Agricultural Workers

Figure 10-5

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Area of Farmland Per Tractor

Figure 10-6