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Published byAbel Walsh Modified over 9 years ago
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How do humans make a living, Part II: Agriculture February 25, 2005
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How do humans make a living? Social Characteristics –Subsistence –Exchange Patterns –Ecological Relationships –Cultural Practices (religion, ritual) –Trade goods
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Part I: How did this happen? Traditional View: Revolutionary innovation leading to a better life Foragers managed the land –Burning –Weeding Gradual, seasonal back and forth Adaptive strategy for managing risk.
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Part I: How did this happen? Strategy: ForagingFarming Return:LowHigh Risk:LowHigh Delay:ShortLong
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Part I: How did this happen? Foragers become farmers when: –Return on effort increases and –Risk and Delay decrease Diamond: –Degradation of environment and resources (game animals) –Climatic changes
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Part II: When did this happen? Earliest evidence for domestication is 10,000 ybp (Fertile Crescent). Evolutionary “blink of an eye.”
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Part III: Where did this happen? Middle East (Wheat, barley, sheep, goats, cattle, pigs – 10,000bp) South China (Rice, water buffalo, dogs, pigs – 8,500) North China (Millet, Dogs, pigs, chickens – 7,500) African Sahel (Sorghum, pearl millet, rice – 4,000)
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Part III: Where did this happen? Mexico (Maize, beans, squash, dogs, turkeys – 4,700) Andes (Potato, quinoa, llama, alpaca, guinea pigs – 4,500) Eastern U.S. (Goosefoot, marsh elder, sunflower, squash – 4,500)
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Part III: Where did this happen?
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Part IV: Why did it happen there? Climate Species available for domestication Topography Latitude
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Part IV: Why did it happen there?
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Why the Middle East? Largest Mediterranean zone with most climatic variation (seasons) Greatest species diversity. Greatest topographic diversity Less competition from hunter gatherers
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Part V:Adaptive Strategies in Farming Benefits – Costs = Net Benefit Extensive agriculture: –Low input, low cost, high net benefit Intensive agriculture –High costs, high net benefit In terms of the factors, neither is inherently better.
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Extensive: Swidden Agriculture
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Population Size Growth Cycles; rotating fields
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Extensive: Swidden Agriculture
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Intensive Agriculture Labor Intensive Land Intensive Capital Intensive Machinery Intensive
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Labor Intensive
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Land Intensive
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Capital/Machinery Intensive
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Part VI: What were the consequences? Population growth Intensifying food production “Flourescence” –Hopewell –Mississippian
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Part VI: What were the consequences? Declining health Increased workload Social Changes
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Declining Health
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Increasing Workload
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Social Changes Mississippian Flourescence –Increased population –Larger settlements –Social complexity –“Mound Builders”
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Green Revolution Effort by USAID, agencies and governments to end hunger through technology Increase crop yields by focusing on “inputs” –Seed hybrids, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation and machinery
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Green Revolution Debt Environmental Degradation Land reallocation (former land owners became poor tenant farmers) Loss of control of farming methods Increase in production Increase in poverty
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Green Revolution Food First estimates 786 million hungry people in the 1990s Governments tried to store grain that people couldn’t afford to buy.
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