3.1 Food – Before the Big Mac

Hunters and Gatherers Early humans were hunters and gatherers During the time humans have been on Earth, the vast majority of it was spent hunting and gathering Agriculture – planting and harvesting of crops for food Did not appear until recently

How Do We Know? Archaeologists – scientists who study the things that early humans left behind Artifacts – items that once belonged to early humans Radiocarbon dating – process that can tell us the age of a once-living object Age of the dead organism can be determined by comparing the amount of C-14 in the dead organism and amount of C-14 in a living organism today Amount of C-14 decreases due to radioactive decay Half-life – amount of time it takes for ½ of a radioactive element to break down

Beginning of Technology Technology is applied science To improve chances of a successful hunt, weapons were made from stone and bones Obsidian – type of rock formed when hot volcanic lava cools quickly Appears to be made of glass Extremely sharp

Before Wheat and Corn Before wheat, flour was made from acorns that were ground in a mortar Acorns contain tannins, which is very bitter Tannins were removed with water

Wild Rice Genetics has provided us with bigger plants and fruits, fruits that ripen at nearly the same time, and plants that give us larger yields Most wild rice today is shatter-resistant variety produced in fields where the water level is controlled by dikes Immediately after harvest, the rice grains are parched (cured and dried)

Corn: Tamed by Humans Scientists classify corn as a kind of grass Without humans tending to the corn plants: Few of them will survive to produce a mature corn plant Few of the plants that reach maturity will be pollinated Few seeds will be produced Corn was main cereal crop that sustained the civilizations in the Americas