Agricultural revolutions APHuG Agricultural revolutions What is it? Where did it begin?

Origins of agriculture Humanity’s only “economic” activity for at least 90% of our existence. Low population densities. Wide variety of natural foodstuffs eaten.

Hunters and gatherers lived in small groups. The men hunted game or fished, and the women collected berries, nuts, and roots. This division of labor sounds like a stereotype but is based on evidence from archaeology and anthropology. The group traveled frequently, establishing new home bases or camps. The direction and frequency of migration depended on the movement of game and the seasonal growth of plants at various locations. Hunters and gatherers lived in small groups. The men hunted game or fished, and the women collected berries, nuts, and roots. This division of labor sounds like a stereotype but is based on evidence from archaeology and anthropology. The group traveled frequently, establishing new home bases or camps. The direction and frequency of migration depended on the movement of game and the seasonal growth of plants at various locations.

Today perhaps a quarter-million people, or less than 0 Today perhaps a quarter-million people, or less than 0.005 percent of the world’s population, still survive by hunting and gathering. Contemporary hunting and gathering societies are isolated groups living on the periphery of world settlement, but they provide insight into human customs that prevailed in prehistoric times, before the invention of agriculture.

1st agricultural revolution, 8,000 BCE Defined: The time when humans first domesticated plants and animals and no longer relied entirely on hunting and gathering. Over thousands of years, plant cultivation apparently evolved from a combination of accidental occurrences and deliberate experiments. Vegetative Planting: Direct cloning from existing plants, such as cutting stems and dividing roots. Seed Agriculture: More complex; involves seed selection, sowing, watering, and well-timed harvesting. The first plants domesticated in Southeast Asia.. . probably included roots such as the taro and yam, and tree crops such as the banana and palm. The dog, pig, and chicken probably were domesticated first in Southeast Asia. Geographer, Carl Sauer, studied the geography of the First Agricultural Revolution. Focused primarily on origins and innovations. Believed Southeast and South Asia were origins for agriculture.

Systems of agricultural production Subsistence Agriculture: Practiced by families and villages when they raise only enough animals and crops to feed themselves. Commercial Agriculture: Produces goods for sale in the city or on the international market. Five principal features distinguish commercial from subsistence agriculture: purpose of farming; percentage of farmers in the labor force; use of machinery; farm size; (and) relationship of farming to other businesses.

Types of subsistence agriculture Shifting cultivation: occurs when traditional farmers had to abandon plots of land after the soil became infertile. Only occurs in areas where population densities are low. Slash-and-burn farming: trees are cut down and burned as a method of clearing land for cultivation. Allowed farmers to: Experiment with various plants Learn the effects of weeding and crop care Cope with environmental vagaries Discern the decreased fertility of soil after sustained farming.

Types of subsistence agriculture Pastoral nomadism: form of extensive subsistence agriculture. Defined: Animal herds are moved from one forage area to another in a cyclical pattern of migration. Tibetan Herdsmen Problems – Soil quality is often marginal Lack tools and technology that developed countries have had for nearly 100 years Difficult to accumulate the capital that would allow for an improvement in standard of living Wodaabe of the Sahara

2nd agricultural revolution, 1750-1900 Why? Agriculture needed to move beyond subsistence farming to generate the kinds of surpluses needed to feed the people working in the factories! What? Tools: Metal plows, Reapers, Cotton Gin, Seed Drill, Tractors New Crops: Potatoes and Corn Chemical Pesticides/Fertilizers Hybrid and genetically modified crops **coincided with Industrial Revolution **As a result of the Second AG Revolution, more people left farms and moved to urban areas to fulfill industry demand for workers. **Enclosure Act of Great Britain

3rd agricultural revolution Also known as the Green Revolution (biotechnology, genetic engineering and use of chemical fertilizers) Manipulation of seed varieties to increase crop yields Crops impacted: corn, wheat, rice (double-cropping, triple cropping) Decreased famine in numerous areas “Hunger Areas” greatly impacted 1960s – focus of the Green Revolution turned to India