The History of Agriculture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yocja_N5s1I

Agriculture What is Agriculture? practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products. Why is agriculture important? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVHD9wGlbho

History of Agricultural Development The development of Agriculture is the single most important advance in human history Two development have contributed to our growing food supply 1. Expansion of agriculture into more areas of the world – example the grasslands of North America 2. The more effective use of the land we farm – technology has increased productivity

The Story of Agriculture Before agriculture, people lived by hunting wild animals and gathering edible plants. When the herds were plentiful and the plants flourishing, life was good. But, when the herds migrated elsewhere, people had to follow them and often discover a whole new set of plants to supplement their diet.

The Story of Agriculture Hunters eventually realized that their prey was much easier to kill if it were walled up in a box canyon. Better yet, they could capture the prey and keep it in a cave for future use. Archaeological finds show that early humans imprisoned giant ground sloth's in this way. Entrapment, however, was a temporary measure.

The Story of Agriculture This "feast or famine" lifestyle had its definite drawbacks including starvation. Fortunately, it was eventually discovered how to preserve meat by drying it, smoking it over a fire, or cooking it. Some others realized that it they took the seeds of the plants they had been eating and scattered them about, they grew into new plants.

The Story of Agriculture Eventually, people decided that life would be a lot easier if they always had the animals with them and if edible plants or their produce were always available. Settling down seemed like a good idea.

The Origin of Agriculture Recent archaeological finds place the beginning of agriculture before 7000 B.C. Animal domestication (mostly dogs used as hunting aids) thousands of years before that. There is some evidence that some ancient civilizations were domesticating sheep and planting wheat as long ago as 9800 B.C.

The Origin of Agriculture Archaeologists have lots of theories as to how planting began: The Migratory Theory suggests that some seeds were spilled during a migration. When the tribe next passed the same place, they might have correlated the spill of seeds with the sudden abundance of the plant. Selective planting of the seeds from plants with the highest yield was used In this way, plants were domesticated, changed and controlled to benefit man rather than just exist in the wild.

The Origin of Agriculture At about the same time as people were figuring out how to plant seeds they were also starting to domesticate the wild ox and gather sheep into herds. Remains of a hunting dog, dated back to 8500 B.C., have been found in North America.

Towns and Cities Began to Form The abundance of the harvest from domesticated plants allowed major increases in population. Having all of one's plants and animals in one place allowed the agriculturist to move from random caves and makeshift huts into permanent or semi permanent villages with homes made from stones and wood.

Early Farming Techniques The initial approach to farming was to remove some of the seeds from food plants before eating them, then scatter the seeds back into the same area they came from. Later, the planters realized that other (non -food) plants were competing with their plants for the field, so they took to weeding the fields to make sure the only their plants were growing there. Everything else was left to nature.

Early Farming Techniques Eventually it became obvious that this constant replanting resulted in stunted crops and low yields. The first response was simply to find a new field. After all, the land was vast and people were few. After awhile, though, the obvious fields were used up. Then potential farmers looked to the forests.

Types of Agricultural Practices Slash And Burn Fallow Fields Irrigation

Slash and Burn Most agricultural societies discovered the slash and burn technique. First, all the foliage in a section of a forest was cut down, creating a field. The remains were left on the ground. Then the field was set on fire, and the ash from the cut foliage enriched the soil. After many uses even this enriched soil became barren, and farmers were forced to find new fields.

Fallow Fields A fallow field is one that is not planted for a period in hopes that it will regain its fertility. It is believed that the practice of leaving fields fallow originated because some cultures were forced to return to their old fields. They found that the infertile fields they left behind had become more productive. This led to the establishment of a rotation system where each growing season certain fields would be left alone Sometimes the fallow fields were used for pasturage for animals, which had the incidental benefit of fertilizing the soil.

Irrigation As populations grew and competed for the best growing lands some cultures were forced to try to farm normally arid (dry) areas. Some of these cultures died trying; others discovered the principles of irrigation. There were some early massive engineering projects to dam water for later use, including the digging of canals to distribute water to normally dry fields.

Irrigation In most cases, irrigation involves trapping and storing water that appears for a short period, such as the spring flooding so that it can be used later in normally dry periods. In almost all cases, early irrigation made the desert flower for a couple of centuries, then the water dried up in a climatic change or the fields grew barren because the irrigation had washed away all the good soil.

Technology & Agriculture As technology improved so did agricultural yields and capabilities: Improved plows More effective use of animal Industrialization Introduction of crops to new parts of the world Selective Breeding of crops and animals Increased emphasis on cash-crop farming Green Revolution Increased corporate ownership of farms Development of Genetically modified organisms

Then and Now Plows

Then and Now Seeding Equipment

Then and Now Combines