Producing Food Chapter 2 Lesson 1

Objectives Describe the first crops people grew and the first animals they kept Describe how farming and keeping animals changed the way people lived Identify ways that people changed the environment

Vocabulary Drought – long period with little or no rain Domesticate - to tame plants or animals for human use Livestock – domesticated animals that provide resources Agriculture – the knowledge of raising plants and animals Slash and burn farming – system of farming in which think forestlands are cut and burned to prepare the soil for planting Surplus – extra supply

Adapting to Change Climate became warmer Early humans found new ways to survive by adapting to climate changes as the last Ice Age ended They became better at storing food Made new weapons for hunting smaller prey Became farmers

Agricultural Revolution After domesticating plants and animals, some people changed from a nomadic way of life to farming Early farmers lived in permanent settlements and developed new rules for working and living together People began to collect and plant seeds from wild plants

Early Farming Areas Tigris Euphrates Valley – 10,000 years ago Andean – 9,500 years ago Indus Valley - 8,000 years ago Huang He – 8,000 years ago Nile Valley – 8,000 years ago Middle America – 5,400 years ago See map on page 50 in your textbook

Agricultural Revolution Living in permanent settlements lead to new forms of organization and new rules People started to work together to choose and use farmland Order needed to be kept and conflicts resolved

Farming as a Way of life Farming often involved more work than hunting and gathering Agriculture provided a steady, more reliable food supply Often a surplus could be traded for other resources, or stored for later use

Summary After the last Ice Age, people developed agriculture By growing crops and keeping livestock, people created surplus food With extra food, groups of people could stay in one place and support more people They could also share food with other groups They could even trade for goods not found near their settlements This trade was an important step toward building larger, more advanced societies