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© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
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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© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
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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© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
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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© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
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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© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
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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© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
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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