The History of Agriculture

The Fertile Crescent from Source #1

It is frequently assumed that agriculture emerged in a single location and eventually spread across to the rest of the world; however, this simply isn't true. Nicholas Malinak proposes a three-part evolution of agriculture, which is the idea that agriculture developed independently in the Middle East, China, and Mesoamerica. There is no single factor (or factors) that resulted in the establishment of agriculture. Agriculture  flourished in these three areas of the world due to specific yet different conditions that allowed agriculture to take place, and the change in climate conditions that ensued after the end of the Ice Age is an example. The climate change allowed for new temperate regions that humans can comfortably live in, which also allows stable environmental conditions for plants to grow under human care.

Beginning in the area of Mesopotamia, agriculture was easily established due to the fact that the "fertile crescent" provided an environment that would allow plant cultivation to thrive. This area has also earned itself the nickname "Cradle of civilization", as the establishment of agriculture allowed the earliest human civilizations to survive in this area, the earliest dating back to 10,000 BCE. The cities that appeared heavily relied on agriculture and animal domestication for their main source of subsistence. China experienced similar results, but the establishment of agriculture differed in Mesoamerica.

It took around 4,000 years longer for agriculture to appear in Mesoamerica than it took to be established in Mesopotamia and China. Malinak explains that this late appearance of agriculture is an explanation as to why Native Americans relied heavily on hunting and gathering, and the delay in agricultural societies caused the Native Americans to be seen as less advanced than Europeans "due to the delay in development of complex stratified societies," (Malinak).

I have complied a timeline that depicts important characteristics and events of the history of agriculture, such as the cultivation of particular plants and domestication of specific animals that occurred throughout time. If you would like to add to this list, please notify me in the comment section!

The History of Agriculture Timeline:

14-30000 BC: 

• Earliest known domestication of dogs; however, the areas where the domestication is still debated and unknown.

10-12000 BC:

• Natufians in the Levant begin harvesting wild grasses.
• Beginnings of agriculture in the Middle East.
• World Population: 1-5 million.

9-10000 BC:

• Domestication of wheat in the Fertile Crescent.
• Storage and sowing of surplus grains began to take place.
• Domestication of fig trees and emmer wheat in Near East.
• Wild sheep flocks are managed in the Zagros mountains.

8-9000 BC:

• Domestication of chickpeas in Antolia.
• Domestication of eikhorn wheat and barley in Near East.
• Domestication of potatoes in South America.
• Domestication of rice in Asia.
• Domestication of bottle gourd in Asia and Central America.
• World Population: 8-10 million.

7-8000 BC:

• Domestication of goats and sheep in the Middle East.
• Cultivation of wheat, sesame, barley, and eggplant in Mehrgarh.
• Long-distance trade in obsidian begins.
• Domestication of rye in Europe.
• Domestication of cattle and chicken in Mehrgarh, Pakistan.
• Domestication of maize in Central America.
• Agriculture had reached southern Europe with evidence of emmer and einkorn wheat, barley, sheep, goats, and pigs suggest that a food producing economy is adopted in Greece and the Aegean.

6-7000 BC:

• First pottery in the Near East.
• Domestication of chickens in South Asia.
• Domestication of bread wheat in Near East.
• Granary built in Mehrgarh for storage of excess food.
• First copper smelting in Anatolia.
• First irrigation.
• First fortified settlement at Ugarit.

5-6000 BC:

• Domestication of cotton in Southwest Asia.
• Domestication of beans in Central America.
• Irrigation and agriculture begin in earnest in Mesopotamia.
• Hierarchical societies emerge in southeast Europe.

4-5000 BC:

• Invention of the plow.
• The Neolithic village of Banpo is inhabited.
• Domestication of chili peppers in South America.
• Domestication of watermelon in Near East.
• Egyptians discover how to make bread using yeast.
• First use of light wooden ploughs in Mesopotamia

3-4000 BC:

• Domestication of horses in West Asia.
• Domestication of silkworms in China.
• Domestication of cotton in South America.
• Domestication of honey bees in Near East or Western Asia.
• Sugar produced in India.
• Fermentation of dough, grain, and fruit juices is in practice.
• World Population: 14-20 million.

2-3000 BC:

• Domestication of corn in North America.
• Iron plow developed in China.

Sources:

1. The Exploitation of Plants and People by Nicholas Malinak
2. The Development of Agriculture on NationalGeographic.com
3. Timeline on FactMonster.com
4. Animal Domestication on Archaeology.com
5. Plant Domestication on Archaeology.com
6.  Neolithic Period on Ancient History Encylcopedia

Categories: agricultural, evolution, three-part evolution, timeline