AP World History Agriculture

What is Agriculture ?

• The practice of farming and domestication of animals provide food , wool , and other products.
• Agriculture Revolution refers to the deliberate process of cultivating plants and domesticating specific animals
• Domestication means to tame animals and then killing them for meat and other supplies that are useful to the group
• Domestication allowed development of food surplus

Agricultural Revolution

• what is agriculture? growing plants and domestication of animals for food, wool, milk etc
• What is the agricultural revolution?
• deliberate process to cultivate plants( corn growing etc) and domestication of animals
• Agricultural Revolution:
• 1 Replaced hunter gatherer practices in most societies throughout the world (San and Chumash are exceptions because eg San still exist today and were not replaced)
• 2, Neolithic Agricultural Revolution occurred independently in scattered parts of the world at roughly the same time
• Occurred about 12000 - 4000 yrs ago (after the ice age)
• Examples : Mesopotamia (Fertile Crescent), Egypt (Nile Rv)
• 3.

Common Patterns and Practices

• 1. The climate changed after Ice Age pushed societies to find new food sources
• Warmer weather in wetter areas of the planet allowed for flourishing of cereal plants and grasses
• 2. Gender roles: Women were main agriculturalists of Neolithic Age ,
• Men were involved with domestication of wild animals : Domesticated sheep , goat , cattle from Fertile Crescent and
• Domesticated llamas and alpacas from Andes
• Rice in Asia, Yam in Africa , maize in Mesoamerica ​​​​​​ - women involved here
• 3.Social stratification occurs
• 4.variations of Agricultural Revolution
• A)Fertile Crescent was the first area where Agricultural Rev occurred. Larger variety of plants/animals - more domestication
• B)In Africa( in Sahara) : animals were domesticated before plants, everywhere else plants before animals . Thet domesticated cattle even before Middle East and India.
• Donkey was domesticated near Red Sea.

common practices continues

• Variations in Agricultural Revolution ....
• 5.In Americas : only animals domesticated were Llama and Alpaca. So had less domestication in americas.
• -had less large animals for plowing,
• - continued to rely on hunting to get meat, for 3500 yrs longer than Fertile Crescent
• - lacked trade and innovative ideas/practices spread less

Globalization of Agriculture

• 1. Agriculture started in various regions (Mesopotamia or Yellow River Valley)
• 2. Spread to the rest of the region and outward
• 3. Agriculture spread in 2 ways:
• A) Diffusion: Gradual spread of agricultural techniques, but without the extensive movement of people
• B)Colonization or migration of agriculture, spread of moving farmers and their practices, as well as language and culture
• This is often meant that earlier hunter gatherer were displaced, conquered, or absorbed
• Places where Agriculture Begins :
• Mesopotamia
• Egypt
• Indus River
• Yellow River
• Mesoamerica
• South America
• West Africa

Globalization of Agriculture

• 1.New Agriculture communities had to work cooperatively to clear land
• 2. they created irrigation systems needed for agriculture practices
• irrigation= Artificial application of water to land or soil ( water was re-directed from river towards where crops grew)
• Irrigation helps spread water spread evenly to farmland allowing for more sustained growth of crops
• 3. Different crops or animals were domesticated in different regions
• Depending on weather patterns and local flora (plants) and fauna (animal) so agriculture was different in Americas vs Fertile Crescent
• Agricultural practices drastically changed landscape
• Over farming had specific and sometimes negative effects on soil; led to soil erosion

Language and Religion

• 1. Spread of the Indo-European languages along with agriculture; so culture spreads along with food
• 2.Religions such as Judiasm and Hinduism, spread with trade
• 3. China spread it's farming practices westward
• 4.India received agricultural practices from east and west alike
• 5. Africa :Spread of Agriculture in South Africa due to spread of Bantu language family (There are 400 Bantu languages )
• Started in Cameroon and Nigeria and spread south and SE.(about 3000 BCE)
• Bantu absorbed Paleolithic communities in S. Africa peacefully- not much warfare.
• This brought diseases from their animals . Natives had no immunity to such diseases.

Bantu Language Family

• Over 400 languages in Bantu Language
• Started in S. Nigeria or Cameroon in about 3000 BCE, and spread south and southeast
• Bantu absorbed the Paleolithic communities of S. Africa
• Bantu had peaceful migrations, little warfare
• Brought borne diseases with them, to which the natives had no immunity
• Diseases had great affects on natives

Agricultural Practices

• 1. Took 10 000 yrs to spread agricultural practices all over the world.
• 2. Some places did not get these agricultural practices:
• SW Africa
• SW North America
• Australia
• Artic