• Before agriculture humans hunted and gathered. • Groups of related families united in bands. • They traveled frequently following animal herds. What is this called? • Women collected roots, berries, and nuts, and men hunted game or fished. • By co-operating together they met their basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. • The animals they killed provided meat for food, bones for tools, and hides for clothing. Hand Axe
• They set up seasonal camps in caves or rock shelters wherever the animals were plentiful. • Bands migrated when plants or animals became scarce in one location. • As bands grew larger, their organization and interactions within the group changed. • Band members now performed and took on different roles according to their abilities and the group’s needs. • Growing crops on a regular basis gave rise to permanent civilizations and supported growing populations.
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals and plants for food and other resources. To cultivate is to prepare and care for. Tillage is the cultivation, or preparation of soil for agriculture (farming). Animal husbandry is the cultivation, or management and care of farm animals. Vegetative planting is the reproduction of plants by direct cloning of existing plants- planting stems and roots. Seed agriculture is the reproduction of plants by planting seeds. Vegetative Planting Seed Planting Originate in Southeast Asia Originated in Indus Valley, Diffused to other areas of Northern China, and the world such as China, Ethiopia Japan, India, tropical Africa Diffused Southwest Asia and the Mediterranean. and then
Agriculture is known to have first developed in the Fertile Crescent, Nile River Valley, Indus River Valley, and the Yellow and Yangzi River Valleys in China.
The Nile River The Indus Valley
3300 BCE - 2400 BCE
Agriculture is known to have first developed in the Fertile Crescent, Nile River Valley, Indus River Valley, and the Yellow and Yangzi River Valleys in China.
Probably first, useful tree and vine species were identified, protected and improved whilst undesirable species were eliminated. Agricultural techniques such as irrigation, crop rotation, the application of fertilizers were developed soon after the Neolithic Revolution. When agriculture was developed it led to. . . opermanent civilizations ojob specialization odistinct gender roles opatriarchal societies oincrease in total population This in turn led to the more complex aspects of civilization such as the development of government, religion, distinct cultures, writing, art, and expansion (empires). It also led to technological advancements for farming.
What are LDC’s and MDC’s? Main difference between agriculture in MDC’s and LDC’s is that MDC’s practice commercial agriculture, and in LDC’s practice subsistence agriculture. Subsistence agriculture produces food primarily for self consumption. Commercial agriculture produces food for sale. To know the difference, ask yourself, does it stay on the farm or does it leave the farm? In MDC’s < 10% of workers are farmers. In the U.S. and Canada <2% of the working population are farmers. MDC’s use machinery which eliminates the need for additional workers. MDC farm sizes are much larger than in LDC’s. MDC’s likely have a high gross domestic product (GDP), high average incomes, and access to good education. LDC’s are the opposite with typically more people engaged in the primary and secondary sectors of the economy. MDCs have less people MDCs have more people employed in the Primary employed in the Tertiary and Sector, while LDCs will have Quaternary Sectors, while more people employed LDCs will have less
• Shifting cultivation is when land area is cultivated temporarily, abandoned when the soil becomes depleted, and reverts to natural vegetation while the cultivator moves on. • Slash-and-burn is an agricultural technique that involves cutting and burning of forests or woodlands to create fields. This is not sustainable with large populations, because the land does not recover quick enough, and so farmers have to move on to virgin forest and repeat the process.
Rapid population growth is also a problem for LDC’s because farmers must feed more people, which can lead to more slash-and- burning. Plantation farming is a large piece of land where usually one crop is grown (today it is primarily trees) for widespread commercial sale. Pastoral Nomadism ______.
Overproduction of food leads to surplus food which leads to low prices which leads to lower incomes. Governments of MDC’s will… opay farmers when prices are low and to reduce excess crop production, obuy surplus crop production and donate or sell at a reduced price to foreign countries, opromote sustainable agricultural practices that preserve or enhance the environment, olimit use of chemicals and herbicides to control pest, plant diseases, and weeds.
The Green Revolution was a series of research and development and technology initiatives, occurring between the 1930s and 1960s, with the goal of increasing worldwide food production. The aims of the revolution were to… obe able to grow crops on a massive scale with production out pacing population growth, omake plants resistant to pests and herbicides, omake farming and automated process, oreplant without having to let land lay fallow, ogrow virtually any crop anywhere, ocultivate the oceans, oenable farmers to be able to grow surpluses and export cash crops for increasing profits. Pest Resistant: crop losses from insects can be devastating resulting in financial loss and even starvation. Herbicide Tolerant: genetically engineered plants to be resistant to “one” very powerful herbicide could help prevent environmental damage by reducing the herbicides needed. Disease Resistant: biologists are working to genetically engineer plants resistance to these viruses, bacteria, and fungus. Cold Tolerant: an antifreeze gene from cold water fish has been introduced into some plants, with this gene, these plants are able to tolerate cold temperatures that normally would kill unmodified plants. Drought/Salinity Tolerant: creating plants that can withstand long periods of drought or high salt content in soil. Nutrition: in third world countries where malnutrition is a problem because people rely on a single crop, the crop could be genetically modified to contain more nutrients. Unintended harm to other organisms that pollenate such monarch butterfly caterpillars and bees. Genes from engineered plants could be crossbreed to other plants such as weeds. Introducing a gene into a plant may create a new allergen or cause an allergic reaction in susceptible individuals. There is a growing concern that introducing foreign genes into food plants may have an unexpected and negative impact on human health. Genetically modified tomatoes came out in 1994, and were modified to remain firm and fresh for a long time. Golden rice has been modified to contain a large amount of Vitamin A so when you eat golden rice you get more vitamin A. Sweet corn has been modified to produce poison which kills harmful insects meaning farmers no longer needs to fight insects with insecticides. Strawberries, pineapples, sweet peppers, and bananas have all been modified to remain fresh for longer. Do you know what you are eating? Genetically modified food