Contents
- 1 Who are famous people in the history of Agriculture?
- 2 What was the origin of Agriculture?
- 3 What is the historical development of Agriculture?
- 4 What is the history of American agriculture?
- 5 What marked the beginning of agriculture?
- 6 When did agriculture begin in the Americas?
- 7 How did the first farming of America start?
- 8 When was the beginning of agriculture started?
- 9 Where did the agriculture start?
- 10 When did agriculture arise in the Americas quizlet?
- 11 Where did farming begin in the Americas quizlet?
- 12 Where was agriculture invented in America?
- 13 How did agriculture transform life in the Americas?
- 14 When did the agricultural revolution start and end?
- 15 What is the introduction of agriculture?
- 16 What are factors influencing agriculture?
- 17 History
- 18 Social studies
- 19 World History
- 20 Social studies
- 21 maths –plse help me.
- 22 Social Studies
- 23 History
- 24 Where did plantation agriculture begin?
- 25 What was the first food source for the pioneers?
- 26 What was the first settlement in the Northwest Territory?
- 27 What did the pioneers wear?
- 28 What was the first major movement west of the Appalachian Mountains?
- 29 Where did the first movement of the Appalachian Mountains begin?
- 30 What were the most important crops in the South?
- 31 When was agriculture invented?
- 32 What was the agricultural industry in the 1850s?
- 33 What states were the chief wheat states in 1840?
- 34 How many hours did it take to produce 100 bushels of wheat?
- 35 What was the most important cash crop in the Old South?
- 36 What were the inventions of the early 19th century aimed at?
- 37 What did the Continental Congress offer for service in the Continental Army?
- 38 When did agriculture begin?
- 39 How did agriculture start?
- 40 When were squash and peanuts first domesticated?
- 41 When was Cucurbita pepo first domesticated?
- 42 When did people first arrive in the Americas?
- 43 Why was agriculture accelerated?
- 44 What caused the Pleistocene extinction?
- 45 Where did the third agricultural system originate?
- 46 Where was corn grown in 1600?
- 47 Which region is being considered as the domain of a fourth agricultural regime?
- 48 How did burning trees help the East?
- 49 Why was burning used in the North?
- 50 How did the Eastern Archaic people become sedentary?
- 51 Where did wild sunflowers come from?
- 52 How long ago did agriculture start?
- 53 When was agriculture first developed?
- 54 What did Sumerians grow?
- 55 When was rice domesticated in China?
- 56 Where did maize originate?
- 57 Where did agriculture originate?
- 58 Why did agriculture start in the Levant?
- 59 What is the task of an agricultural historian?
- 60 Is agriculture a distant place?
- 61 Why did people start farming?
- 62 What was the farming revolution?
- 63 When was the prehistoric period?
- 64 What is the meaning of “agriculture”?
- 65 What mutation occurred during the spread of farming into southeastern Europe?
- 66 Where did goats come from?
- 67 When did corn cobs first appear?
- 68 When did agriculture start?
- 69 How long has agriculture been around?
- 70 What was the difference between hunter-gatherer and agriculture?
- 71 What did people who didn’t need to be farmers do?
- 72 How did small settlements grow into cities?
- 73 What was the driving force behind the growth of civilizations?
- 74 When was the plow used in Egypt?
- 75 Pre-Colonial Era
- 76 Colonial Farming: 1610–1775
- 77 New Nation: 1776–1860
- 78 Railroad Age: 1860–1910
- 79 South, 1860–1940
- 80 Grange
- 81 World War I
- 82 1920s
- 83 1930s
- 84 1945 Until Present
- 85 1776–1800
- 86 1800–1830
- 87 The 1830s
- 88 The 1840s
- 89 The 1850s
- 90 The 1860s
- 91 The 1870s
- 92 The 1880s
- 93 The 1890s
The U.S. economy was primarily agricultural in the early 19th century. Westward expansion, including the Louisiana Purchase and American victory in the War of 1812 plus the building of canals and the introduction of steamboats opened up new areas for agriculture.
Who are famous people in the history of Agriculture?
1. What marked the beginning of agriculture in the Americas? A. Native people began raising goats. B. The was invented. C. Native people began growing maize.(I PICK THIS) D. The Spanish arrived. 2. Aztec aqueducts were an important accomplishment because they A. prevented flooding. B. collected rain water. C. improved sewage systems.
What was the origin of Agriculture?
· Agriculture began independently in both North and South America ∼10,000 years before present (YBP), within a few thousand years of the arrival of humans in the Americas. This contrasts with the thousands of years that people were present in …
What is the historical development of Agriculture?
North America The regions north of the Rio Grande saw the origin of three, or perhaps four, agricultural complexes. Two of these developed in what is now the southwestern United States. The Upper Sonoran complex included corn, squash, bottle gourd, and the common bean and was found where rainfall was greater than about 200 mm (8 inches) annually.
What is the history of American agriculture?
The history of agriculture records the domestication of plants and animals and the development and dissemination of techniques for raising them productively. Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa.At least eleven separate regions of the Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin.
What marked the beginning of agriculture?
The Neolithic Revolution started around 10,000 B.C. in the Fertile Crescent, a boomerang-shaped region of the Middle East where humans first took up farming. Shortly after, Stone Age humans in other parts of the world also began to practice agriculture.
When did agriculture begin in the Americas?
Agriculture began independently in both North and South America ∼10,000 years before present (YBP), within a few thousand years of the arrival of humans in the Americas. This contrasts with the thousands of years that people were present in the old world before agriculture developed.
How did the first farming of America start?
Colonial farming: 1610–1775. The first settlers in Plymouth Colony planted barley and peas from England but their most important crop was Indian corn (maize) which they were shown how to cultivate by the native Squanto. To fertilize this crop, they used small fish which they called herrings or shads.
When was the beginning of agriculture started?
Agriculture has no single, simple origin. A wide variety of plants and animals have been independently domesticated at different times and in numerous places. The first agriculture appears to have developed at the closing of the last Pleistocene glacial period, or Ice Age (about 11,700 years ago).
Where did the agriculture start?
Agriculture was developed at least 10,000 years ago, and it has undergone significant developments since the time of the earliest cultivation. Independent development of agriculture occurred in northern and southern China, Africa’s Sahel, New Guinea and several regions of the Americas.
When did agriculture arise in the Americas quizlet?
Agriculture started between 5-9 thousand years ago in Mesoamerica (modern day Mexico) and Central America where they relied on domesticated maize to develop the first settled population.
Where did farming begin in the Americas quizlet?
Where and when did farming first develop in the Americas? Farming first developed in Mesoamerica.
Where was agriculture invented in America?
Agriculture arose independently in at least three regions: South America, Mesoamerica, and eastern North America.
How did agriculture transform life in the Americas?
Farming meant that people did not need to travel to find food. Instead, they began to live in settled communities, and grew crops or raised animals on nearby land. They built stronger, more permanent homes and surrounded their settlements with walls to protect themselves.
When did the agricultural revolution start and end?
The Agricultural Revolution, the unprecedented increase in agricultural production in Britain between the mid-17th and late 19th centuries, was linked to such new agricultural practices as crop rotation, selective breeding, and a more productive use of arable land.
What is the introduction of agriculture?
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to live in cities. The history of agriculture began thousands of years ago.
What are factors influencing agriculture?
Different factors which influence agriculture are soil, climate, monsoon, irrigation facilities, availability or adoption of different technology.
History
Which statement is true about European conquests in the Americas? a. when Columbus first arrived in the west indies, he was faced with the hostility of the Taino people. b. Columbus’s men assaulted Taino men and women and claimed
Social studies
1. Why did Olmec farmers move their farms from time to time? A. As their families grew, people needed larger farms. B. Maya invaders took over their farmlands. C. Heavy rains flooded their fields and forced them to find new
World History
Why did the use of African slaves increase in the Americas during the 1500s? A. Native Americans did not know how to harvest sugar cane. B. Portuguese colonists needed slaves to labor in their clothing factories. C. It was more
Social studies
What was one effect of the development of agriculture in South America? A. More people moved to the Grand Chaco. B. Groups began to settle in one place.*** C. People had less food to eat. D. People wore more animal skins and furs.
maths –plse help me.
the cost of 6 cows are same as cost of 8 goats. if cost of 9 cows and twice numbered goats is rs. 9000, then find the cost of 3 cows and 6 goats? (Here , twice numbered goats means 9 * 2 = 18)
Social Studies
1. What was the significance of the expedition led by Bartolomeu Dias? A. It paved the way for the first European voyage to the Americas. B. It established a direct trade network between Portugal and India. C. It proved that it
History
What impact did imperial Spain have on the Americas? Spanish culture came to dominate and replace native cultures. Local leaders were replaced by Spanish parliamentary assemblies. Financing from Spain started the industrialization
Where did plantation agriculture begin?
Plantation agriculture, using slaves, developed in Virginia and Maryland (where tobacco was grown), and South Carolina (where indigo and rice was grown). Cotton became a major plantation crop after 1800 in the ” Black Belt ,” that is the region from North Carolina in an arc through Texas where the climate allowed for cotton cultivation.
What was the first food source for the pioneers?
The main food supply at first came from hunting deer, turkeys, and other abundant small game. Clad in typical frontier garb, leather breeches, moccasins, fur cap, and hunting shirt, and girded by a belt from which hung a hunting knife and a shot pouch – all homemade – the pioneer presented a unique appearance.
What was the first settlement in the Northwest Territory?
In 1788, American pioneers to the Northwest Territory established Marietta, Ohio as the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory. By 1813 the western frontier had reached the Mississippi River. St. Louis, Missouri was the largest town on the frontier, the gateway for travel westward, and a principal trading center for Mississippi River traffic and inland commerce. There was wide agreement on the need to settle the new territories quickly, but the debate polarized over the price the government should charge. The conservatives and Whigs, typified by president John Quincy Adams, wanted a moderated pace that charged the newcomers enough to pay the costs of the federal government. The Democrats, however, tolerated a wild scramble for land at very low prices. The final resolution came in the Homestead Law of 1862, with a moderated pace that gave settlers 160 acres free after they worked on it for five years.
What did the pioneers wear?
Clad in typical frontier garb, leather breeches, moccasins, fur cap, and hunting shirt, and girded by a belt from which hung a hunting knife and a shot pouch – all homemade – the pioneer presented a unique appearance. In a short time he opened in the woods a patch, or clearing, on which he grew corn, wheat, flax, tobacco and other products, even fruit.In a few years the pioneer added hogs, sheep and cattle, and perhaps acquired a horse. Homespun clothing replaced the animal skins. The more restless pioneers grew dissatisfied with over civilized life, and uprooted themselves again to move 50 or hundred miles (80 or 160 km) further west.
What was the first major movement west of the Appalachian Mountains?
The British had attempted to restrict westward expansion with the ineffective Proclamation Line of 1763, abolished after the Revolutionary War. The first major movement west of the Appalachian mountains began in Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina as soon as the was won in 1781. Pioneers housed themselves in a rough lean-to or at most a one-room log cabin. The main food supply at first came from hunting deer, turkeys, and other abundant small game.
Where did the first movement of the Appalachian Mountains begin?
The first major movement west of the Appalachian mountains began in Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina as soon as the Revolutionary War was won in 1781. Pioneers housed themselves in a rough lean-to or at most a one-room log cabin. The main food supply at first came from hunting deer, turkeys, and other abundant small game.
What were the most important crops in the South?
These farms grew their own food and also concentrated on a few crops that could be exported to meet the growing demand in Europe, especially cotton , tobacco, and sugar. The cotton gin made it possible to increase cotton production. Cotton became the main export crop, but after a few years, the fertility of the soil was depleted and the plantation was moved to the new land further west. Much land was cleared and put into growing cotton in the Mississippi valley and in Alabama, and new grain growing areas were brought into production in the Mid West. Eventually this put severe downward pressure on prices, particularly of cotton, first from 1820–23 and again from 1840–43. Sugar cane was being grown in Louisiana, where it was refined into granular sugar. Growing and refining sugar required a large amount of capital. Some of the nation’s wealthiest men owned sugar plantations, which often had their own sugar mills.
When was agriculture invented?
The history of American agriculture (1776–1990) covers the period from the first English settlers to the modern day. Below are detailed timelines covering farm machinery and technology, transportation, life on the farm, farmers and the land, and crops and livestock.
What was the agricultural industry in the 1850s?
The 1850s —Commercial corn and wheat belts began to develop; wheat occupied the newer and cheaper land west of the corn areas and was constantly being forced westward by rising land values and the encroachment of the corn areas. The 1850s —Alfalfa is grown on the west coast.
What states were the chief wheat states in 1840?
1840–1850 —New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio were the chief wheat States. 1840–1860 —Hereford, Ayrshire, Galloway, Jersey, and Holstein cattle were imported and bred. 1840–1860 —Growth in manufacturing brought many laborsaving devices to the farm home.
How many hours did it take to produce 100 bushels of wheat?
By the 1830s, about 250-300 labor-hours were required to produce 100 bushels (5 acres) of wheat using a walking plow, brush harrow, hand broadcast of seed, sickle, and flail.
What was the most important cash crop in the Old South?
1815–1830 —Cotton became the most important cash crop in the Old South.
What were the inventions of the early 19th century aimed at?
Inventions during the early decades of the 19th century were aimed at automation and preservation.
What did the Continental Congress offer for service in the Continental Army?
1776 —Continental Congress offered land grants for service in the Continental Army. 1785, 1787 —Ordinances of 1785 and 1787 provided for survey, sale, and government of northwestern lands. 1790 —Total population: 3,929,214, Farmers made up about 90% of labor force.
When did agriculture begin?
Agriculture began independent ly in both North and South America ∼10,000 years before present (YBP), within a few thousand years of the arrival of humans in the Americas. This contrasts with the thousands of years that people were present in the old world before agriculture developed. In this paper, I hypothesize that the drastic extinctions …
How did agriculture start?
An ecological hypothesis explaining the independent onset of agriculture is that humans began to fill open herbivore niches abandoned by the extinct megaherbivores. Much of the NPP once used by these extinct animals was eventually consumed by humans through agriculture ( Doughty and Field 2010 ). There are several ways the absence of keystone herbivores could accelerate the development of agriculture. For instance, the domestication of crops is a slow process, with both corn ( Jaenicke-Despres et al. 2003 ), wheat ( Tanno and Willcox 2006 ), and other crops ( Fuller 2007) needing thousands of years to be domesticated, with humans exerting weak, rather than strong domestication pressure ( Fuller 2007 ). Such a long, weak domestication process would have been continually disrupted by the competitive herbivory of megaherbivores before they went extinct. In addition, the development of agriculture was preceded by a period of intensive foraging that would also have been more difficult with megaherbivore competition ( Richerson et al. 2001 ).
When were squash and peanuts first domesticated?
For instance, a house in the mountains of the Andes was found to contain squash from ∼10,000 years ago and peanuts from ∼8,500 years ago. Genetic studies and the location of the wild ancestors indicate the crops were likely first domesticated in the warm, wet, lowland tropical forests.
When was Cucurbita pepo first domesticated?
Smith, B. D. 1997. The initial domestication of Cucurbita pepo in the Americas 10,000 years ago. Science 276 : 932 – 934 .
When did people first arrive in the Americas?
Some genetic evidence even suggests that people could have arrived in the Americas as early as 30,000 years ago ( Torroni et al. 1994 ). However, such evidence is still slim compared to the thousands of sites where Clovis artifacts have been recovered, the oldest being 11,800 years BP. Therefore, in this paper, I assume a “Clovis first” approach, meaning that people arrived in the Americas by ∼11,800 BP. However, if evidence for significant peopling of the Americas prior to these dates were to emerge, then the results of this paper would, of course, change.
Why was agriculture accelerated?
The third hypothesis examined whether the development of agriculture was accelerated because formerly mobile hunting societies became more sedentary following the extinction of their prey ( Harris 1977 ), a precondition for the adaptation of agriculture. This argument was initially discounted due to the many millennia thought to separate the extinctions and the onset of agriculture. However, agriculture in the Americas is now thought to have begun much sooner and is generally preceded by several thousand years of intensive foraging. So the timing appears less problematic than when Harris (1977) first developed the hypothesis. Simulations indicate that these early hunters would have been under intense food pressure as their populations were drastically reduced following the extinction of the megafauna prey ( Alroy 2001 ). The extinction of the prey and the sedentary lifestyle would be a “push” towards agriculture, while more NPP and less competitive herbivory would be a “pull” ( Stark 1986) As an alternate explanation to the megafauna hypothesis, I questioned whether differences in climate between the Pleistocene and the Holocene would preferentially increase photosynthesis in the Americas, leading to increased plant growth and greater likelihood of agriculture. Neither temperature nor atmospheric CO 2 concentrations showed regional diversity that could explain variations in the timing of the start of agriculture. Changes in precipitation, however, were highly variable ( Braconnot et al. 2007 ).
What caused the Pleistocene extinction?
These extinctions are generally explained as driven by human over-hunting, climate change, or a combination of the two ( Barnosky et al. 2004 ). Animals occupying entire ecological roles went extinct, with extinctions of animals greater than 44kg in Australia (88% of megaherbivores genera), South America (84%), North America (72%), Eurasia (36%) and Africa (18%) ( Barnosky et al. 2004 ). The extinctions took place in approximately the following order: Australia (50000 BP), Africa (45000 BP), northern Eurasia (12000 BP), North America (12000 BP), South America (10000 BP) ( Barnosky et al. 2004 ).
Where did the third agricultural system originate?
It originated in the region between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains, an area that includes the rich watersheds of rivers such as the Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Plants of the Eastern Agricultural Complex included sunflower, squash, a native chenopod ( Chenopodium berlandieri ), amaranth ( Amaranthus species), maygrass ( Phalaris caroliniana ), sumpweed ( Iva annua ), little barley ( Hordeum pusillum ), and possibly erect knotweed ( Polygonum erectum ). Fish, shellfish, deer, acorns, walnuts ( Juglans species), and hickory nuts ( Carya species) were also important.
Where was corn grown in 1600?
By 1600 bp corn was grown as far north as Ontario, Canada, where no form of crop production had previously existed. By 1500 bp the Hopewell pattern ceased. Two distinct systems followed, the Mississippian and the Late Woodland, both eventually supported by corn agriculture.
Which region is being considered as the domain of a fourth agricultural regime?
The region from southern British Columbia through California and west to the Great Basin is increasingly being considered as the domain of a fourth agricultural regime. Nearly all of the native peoples living in this region managed habitats and plants, and some had small gardens at the time of European contact.
How did burning trees help the East?
By creating forest openings and edges that exposed the trees to more sunlight and less competition, burning encouraged more nut production. The earliest corn in the East appears in the central Mississippi valley about 2100 bp. The introduction of corn did not displace the use of locally domesticated plants.
Why was burning used in the North?
Burning was widely used in aboriginal North America as a technique for clearing the forest understory; it was also used to maintain stands of fire-tolerant species such as oak. By creating forest openings and edges that exposed the trees to more sunlight and less competition, burning encouraged more nut production.
How did the Eastern Archaic people become sedentary?
Eastern Archaic peoples were becoming increasingly sedentary by about 4000–3000 bp. At Poverty Point in the lower Mississippi valley (now Poverty Point National Monument ), people built a complex set of geometrically arranged mounds that date to between 3800 and 3400 bp. By 3000 bp the Eastern Agricultural Complex supported a complex socioeconomic system exemplified by cultures such as the Adena and its descendant, the Hopewell ( see also Woodland cultures ). In much of the region, communities became fully sedentary; in addition, pottery had become common, mound complexes began to be built over a wide area, and populations were growing rapidly.
Where did wild sunflowers come from?
Wild sunflower is not native to the East. Rather, wild sunflower appears to have been introduced somehow from the Colorado Plateau in the U.S. Southwest. Sunflower was never domesticated there, however; sometime after the start of the European conquest, domesticated sunflower was introduced to the region from the East.
How long ago did agriculture start?
Wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago.
When was agriculture first developed?
Agriculture was independently developed on the island of New Guinea. Banana cultivation of Musa acuminata, including hybridization, dates back to 5000 BC, and possibly to 8000 BC, in Papua New Guinea. Bees were kept for honey in the Middle East around 7000 BC.
What did Sumerians grow?
Sumerian farmers grew the cereals barley and wheat, starting to live in villages from about 8000 BC. Given the low rainfall of the region, agriculture relied on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Irrigation canals leading from the rivers permitted the growth of cereals in large enough quantities to support cities. The first ploughs appear in pictographs from Uruk around 3000 BC; seed-ploughs that funneled seed into the ploughed furrow appear on seals around 2300 BC. Vegetable crops included chickpeas, lentils, peas, beans, onions, garlic, lettuce, leeks and mustard. They grew fruits including dates, grapes, apples, melons, and figs. Alongside their farming, Sumerians also caught fish and hunted fowl and gazelle. The meat of sheep, goats, cows and poultry was eaten, mainly by the elite. Fish was preserved by drying, salting and smoking.
When was rice domesticated in China?
In southern China, rice was domesticated in the Yangtze River basin at around 11,500 to 6200 BC, along with the development of wetland agriculture, by early Austronesian and Hmong-Mien -speakers.
Where did maize originate?
Maize was domesticated from the wild grass teosinte in southern Mexico by 6700 BC. The potato (8000 BC), tomato, pepper (4000 BC), squash (8000 BC) and several varieties of bean (8000 BC onwards) were domesticated in the New World. Agriculture was independently developed on the island of New Guinea.
Where did agriculture originate?
By 8000 BC, farming was entrenched on the banks of the Nile. About this time, agriculture was developed independently in the Far East, probably in China, with rice rather than wheat as the primary crop. Maize was domesticated from the wild grass teosinte in southern Mexico by 6700 BC.
Why did agriculture start in the Levant?
Localised climate change is the favoured explanation for the origins of agriculture in the Levant. When major climate change took place after the last ice age (c. 11,000 BC), much of the earth became subject to long dry seasons. These conditions favoured annual plants which die off in the long dry season, leaving a dormant seed or tuber. An abundance of readily storable wild grains and pulses enabled hunter-gatherers in some areas to form the first settled villages at this time.
What is the task of an agricultural historian?
The task of the agricultural historian is to make that past evident, and usable, for an audience that is divorced from the production of food. People need to know where their food comes from, past and present, and what has gone into the creation of the modern food system.
Is agriculture a distant place?
Agriculture is at the very center of the human enterprise; its trappings are in evidence all around, yet the agricultural past is an exceptionally distant place from modern America.
Why did people start farming?
In the Near East, for example, it’s thought that climatic changes at the end of the last ice age brought seasonal conditions that favored annual plants like wild cereals. Elsewhere, such as in East Asia, increased pressure on natural food resources may have forced people to find homegrown solutions. But whatever the reasons for its independent origins, farming sowed the seeds for the modern age.
What was the farming revolution?
Taking root around 12,000 years ago, agriculture triggered such a change in society and the way in which people lived that its development has been dubbed the ” Neolithic Revolution.”. Traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyles, followed by humans since their evolution, were swept aside in favor of permanent settlements …
When was the prehistoric period?
prehistoric period where human ancestors made and used stone tools, lasting from roughly 2.5 million years ago to 7000 BCE. movement from one position to another. most widely grown cereal in the world.
What is the meaning of “agriculture”?
agriculture. Noun. the art and science of cultivating land for growing crops (farming) or raising livestock (ranching). annual plant. Noun. plant with a life cycle of no more than one year, and often much less. barley. Noun. grass cultivated as a grain.
What mutation occurred during the spread of farming into southeastern Europe?
But at some point during the spread of farming into southeastern Europe, a mutation occurred for lactose tolerance that increased in frequency through natural selection thanks to the nourishing benefits of milk.
Where did goats come from?
Cattle, goats, sheep and pigs all have their origins as farmed animals in the so-called Fertile Crescent, a region covering eastern Turkey, Iraq and southwestern Iran. This region kick-started the Neolithic Revolution. Dates for the domestication of these animals range from between 13,000 to 10,000 years ago.
When did corn cobs first appear?
While maize-like plants derived from teosinte appear to have been cultivated at least 9,000 years ago, the first directly dated corn cob dates only to around 5,500 years ago . Corn later reached North America, where cultivated sunflowers also started to bloom some 5,000 years ago.
When did agriculture start?
From as early as 11,000 BCE, people began a gradual transition away from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle toward cultivating crops and raising animals for food. The shift to agriculture is believed to have occurred independently in several parts of the world, including northern China, Central America, and the Fertile Crescent, a region in the Middle East that cradled some of the earliest civilizations. 1 By 6000 BCE, most of the farm animals we are familiar with today had been domesticated. 1 By 5000 BCE, agriculture was practiced in every major continent except Australia. 2
How long has agriculture been around?
It is thought to have been practiced sporadically for the past 13,000 years, 1 and widely established for only 7,000 years. 2 In the long view of human history, this is just a flash in the pan compared to the nearly 200,000 years our ancestors spent gathering, hunting, and scavenging in the wild. During its brief history, agriculture has radically transformed human societies and fueled a global population that has grown from 4 million to 7 billion since 10,000 BCE, and is still growing. 3
What was the difference between hunter-gatherer and agriculture?
Whereas hunter-gatherer societies generally viewed resources as belonging to everyone, agriculture led to a system of ownership over land, food, and currency that was not (and is still not) equitably distributed among the people. 1,16.
What did people who didn’t need to be farmers do?
Those who didn’t need to be farmers took on roles as soldiers, priests, administrators, artists, and scholars. As early civilizations began to take shape, political and religious leaders rose up to rule them, creating classes of “haves” and “have-nots.”.
How did small settlements grow into cities?
1. Agriculture produced enough food that people became free to pursue interests other than worrying about what they were going to eat that day. Those who didn’t need to be farmers took on roles as soldiers, priests, administrators, artists, and scholars.
What was the driving force behind the growth of civilizations?
For better or for worse, agriculture was a driving force behind the growth of civilizations.
When was the plow used in Egypt?
Grave chamber of an Egyptian public official, circa 1250 BCE. The plow is believed to have been used as early as 4,000 years ago in ancient Egypt. Although it brought tremendous gains in short-term productivity, it has also been a major contributor to soil erosion.
Pre-Colonial Era
Colonial Farming: 1610–1775
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The first settlers in Plymouth Colony planted barley and peas from England but their most important crop was Indian corn (maize) which they were shown how to cultivate by the native Squanto. To fertilize this crop, they used small fish which they called herrings or shads. Plantation agriculture, using slaves, developed in Virginia and Maryland (where tobacco was grown), and S…
New Nation: 1776–1860
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The U.S. economy was primarily agricultural in the early 19th century. Westward expansion, including the Louisiana Purchase and American victory in the War of 1812plus the building of canals and the introduction of steamboats opened up new areas for agriculture. Most farming was designed to produce food for the family, and service small local markets. In times of rapid e…
Railroad Age: 1860–1910
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A dramatic expansion in farming took place from 1860 to 1910. The number of farms tripled from 2.0 million in 1860 to 6.0 million in 1906. The number of people living on farms grew from about 10 million in 1860 to 22 million in 1880 to 31 million in 1905. The value of farms soared from $8 billion in 1860 to $30 billion in 1906. The 1902 Newlands Reclamation Actfunded irrigation proje…
South, 1860–1940
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Agriculture in the South was oriented toward large-scale plantations that produced cotton for export, as well as other export products such as tobacco and sugar. During the Civil War, the Union blockade shut down 95 percent of the export business. Some cotton got out through blockade runners, and in conquered areas much was bought by northern speculators for shipme…
Grange
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The Grangewas an organization founded in 1867 for farmers and their wives that was strongest in the Northeast, and which promoted the modernization not only of farming practices but also of family and community life. It is still in operation. Membership soared from 1873 (200,000) to 1875 (858,050) as many of the state and local granges adopted non-partisan political resolutions, esp…
World War I
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The U.S. in World War I, was a critical supplier to other Allied nations, as millions of European farmers were in the army. The rapid expansion of the farms coupled with the diffusion of trucks and Model T cars, and the tractor, allowed the agricultural market to expand to an unprecedented size. During World War I prices shot up and farmers borrowed heavily to buy out their neighbors …
1920s
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A popular Tin Pan Alley song of 1919 asked, concerning the United States troops returning from World War I, “How Ya Gonna Keep ’em Down on the Farm (After They’ve Seen Paree)?”. As the song hints, many did not remain “down on the farm”; there was a great migration of youth from farms to nearby towns and smaller cities. The average distance moved was only 10 miles (16 k…
1930s
- New Deal farm and rural programs
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a liberal Democrat, was keenly interested in farm issues and believed that true prosperity would not return until farming was prosperous. Many different New Deal programs were directed at farmers.Farming reached its low point in 1932, but even then mil… - Rural relief
Many rural people lived in severe poverty, especially in the South. Major programs addressed to their needs included the Resettlement Administration (RA), the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), rural welfare projects sponsored by the WPA, NYA, Forest Service and CCC, including sch…
1945 Until Present
- Government policies
The New Deal era farm programs were continued into the 1940s and 1950s, with the goal of supporting the prices received by farmers. Typical programs involved farm loans, commodity subsidies, and price supports. The rapid decline in the farm population led to a smaller voice in … - Changing technology
Ammonia from plants built during World War II to make explosives became available for making fertilizers, leading to a permanent decline in real fertilizer prices and expanded use. The early 1950s was the peak period for tractor sales in the U.S. as the few remaining mules and work hor…
1776–1800
1800–1830
The 1830s
The 1840s
The 1850s
The 1860s
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The early 1860s witnessed a dramatic change from hand power to horses, which historians characterize as the first American agricultural revolution 1. 1860—Total population: 31,443,321; Farm population: 15,141,000 (estimated); Farmers made up 58% of labor force; Number of farms: 2,044,000; Average acres: 199 2. The 1860s—Kerosene lamps became popula…