1. How do humans make a living, Part II: Agriculture February 25, 2005

2. How do humans make a living? Social Characteristics –Subsistence –Exchange Patterns –Ecological Relationships –Cultural Practices (religion, ritual) –Trade goods

3. 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.

4. Part I: How did this happen? Strategy: ForagingFarming Return:LowHigh Risk:LowHigh Delay:ShortLong

5. 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

6. Part II: When did this happen? Earliest evidence for domestication is 10,000 ybp (Fertile Crescent). Evolutionary “blink of an eye.”

7. 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)

8. 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)

9. Part III: Where did this happen?

10. Part IV: Why did it happen there? Climate Species available for domestication Topography Latitude

11. Part IV: Why did it happen there?

12. Why the Middle East? Largest Mediterranean zone with most climatic variation (seasons) Greatest species diversity. Greatest topographic diversity Less competition from hunter gatherers

13. 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.

14. Extensive: Swidden Agriculture

15. Population Size Growth Cycles; rotating fields

16. Extensive: Swidden Agriculture

17. Intensive Agriculture Labor Intensive Land Intensive Capital Intensive Machinery Intensive

18. Labor Intensive

19. Land Intensive

20. Capital/Machinery Intensive

21. Part VI: What were the consequences? Population growth Intensifying food production “Flourescence” –Hopewell –Mississippian

22. Part VI: What were the consequences? Declining health Increased workload Social Changes

23. Declining Health

25. Increasing Workload

26. Social Changes Mississippian Flourescence –Increased population –Larger settlements –Social complexity –“Mound Builders”

27. 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

28. 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

29. Green Revolution Food First estimates 786 million hungry people in the 1990s Governments tried to store grain that people couldn’t afford to buy.