The Development of Agriculture

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 and a reliable food supply. Out of agriculture, cities and civilizations grew, and because crops and animals could now be farmed to meet demand, the global population rocketed&#;from some five million people 10,000 years ago, to eight billion today.

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There was no single factor, or combination of factors, that led people to take up farming in different parts of the world. 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.

Plant Domestication

The wild progenitors of crops including wheat (Triticum aestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), and peas (Lathyrus oleraceus) are traced to the Near East region. Cereals were grown in Syria as long as 9,000 years ago, while figs (Ficus carica) were cultivated even earlier; prehistoric seedless fruits discovered in the Jordan Valley suggest fig trees were being planted some 11,300 years ago. Though the transition from wild harvesting was gradual, the switch from a nomadic to a settled way of life is marked by the appearance of early Neolithic villages with homes equipped with grinding stones for processing grain.

The origins of rice and millet farming date to the same Neolithic period in China. The world&#;s oldest known rice paddy fields, discovered in eastern China in , reveal evidence of ancient cultivation techniques such as flood and fire control.

In Mexico, squash cultivation began around 10,000 years ago, but corn (maize) had to wait for natural genetic mutations to be selected for in its wild ancestor, teosinte. 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 (Helianthus annuus) also started to bloom some 5,000 years ago. This is also when potato (Solanum tuberosum) growing in the Andes region of South America began.

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Farmed Animals

Cattle (Bos taurus), goats (Capra hircus), sheep (Ovis aries), and pigs (Sus domesticus) 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.

Genetic studies show that goats and other livestock accompanied the westward spread of agriculture into Europe, helping to revolutionize Stone Age society. While the extent to which farmers themselves migrated west remains a subject of debate, the dramatic impact of dairy farming on Europeans is clearly stamped in their DNA. Prior to the arrival of domestic cattle in Europe, prehistoric populations weren&#;t able to stomach raw cow milk. 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. Judging from the prevalence of the milk-drinking gene in Europeans today&#;as high as 90 percent in populations of northern countries such as Sweden&#;the vast majority are descended from cow herders.

Animal husbandry revolutionized the way humans cultivated crops, migrated, traded, ate, traveled, and worked. It reduced human labor, increased production, made travel and trade more efficient, and provided companionship and protection.

Development of Husbandry

Husbandry, or the domestication of, care for, and breeding of animals by humans, did not happen all at once. There is evidence that it first began about 10,000-13,000 years ago during the Neolithic Revolution. Domesticated animal bones have been discovered in excavations of fire pits and kitchens left over from human social gatherings. By about BCE, sheep and goats were domesticated throughout Asia; goats were domesticated in Mesopotamia first, then followed by sheep and later pigs by BCE. By the time of the settlement of the first Mesopotamian city Eridu, it seems that animal husbandry was widespread, and domesticated animals were used for work, food, and kept as pets.

Cattle were also among the first animals to be domesticated in ancient Middle Eastern and Asian civilizations. Although it is uncertain, research shows that horses were first domesticated by the Botai of Kazakhstan around - BCE. Generally, horses were tamed by BCE and although originally used as a source of meat, were used for riding and pulling loads by - BCE. They also became important in warfare. Later, elephants, tigers, and lions would also be used in war. Over time, domestic horses bred with wild horses and eventually spread across Europe and Asia. The domestication of horses changed agriculture, transportation, warfare, and communication.

In Mesopotamia, excavations outside cities and towns revealed a decline in the number of wild gazelle bones after BCE, while the number of bones of domestic sheep and goats increased from the same year. The bones were determined to be those of domesticated animals based on the condition as well as the writings and artwork of the cultures. This pattern was also found in India, Egypt, and China.

Scholars believe that wild sheep and goats tended to graze near human settlements as a means of protection from predators that naturally avoided contact with humans. Since the animals were regularly in close proximity to humans, they gradually became unafraid of humans and increasingly tame. This same process is thought to have been how cats and dogs were tamed. Chickens were known and are believed to have been domesticated in China and Southeast Asia more than 3,400 years ago. Turkeys were domesticated in middle North America.

Throughout mankind's existence, certain animals have proved especially useful to humans; through domestication of these animals, human history and evolution have been significantly affected. It began when ancient humans recognized that certain animals are easily accessible sources of food. Humans quickly realized many other purposes for domesticated animals, i.e. sheep for wool, horses and camels for packing, riding, and warfare, and cattle for milk, meat, and labor, etc. Humans bred and kept these animals for these purposes. Little was known about genetics and breeding, but the Arabs discovered artificial insemination by the 14th century.

Yet, even before artificial insemination, animal husbandry changed almost everything about the way humans lived; with a stable and controllable food source, humans could settle in one spot and cease their lives as nomads; with the ability to ride strong, swift horses, people could migrate more easily and quickly; with pack animals, people could travel farther distances and reduce human labor; with tame cats and dogs, humans could have more protection and companionship. The effects of animal husbandry on society are too numerous to list, but it is certain that the evolution of humans and society would have been entirely different without it. Would we be where we are without the domestication of animals?

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Examples of the Effects of Animal Husbandry

• Pack animals, such as cattle, horses, and camels allowed humans to move and migrate around the world more quickly and easily. The use of these animals made trade and transport easier and more widespread.


• Domesticated animals reduced human labor and made farming and agriculture more efficient.


• Domestic animals provided a controllable and constant supply of food, which meant humans could inhabit regions where natural food sources are limited.


• Horses provided advantages in war and contributed to the outcome. For example, Alexander the Great had a large cavalry, which served as an advantage and helped secure many victories.


• Dogs and cats, as well as other domestic animals, are now kept as pets and treated like family members, which supports a multi-billion-dollar industry. The same animals are used in therapy and as service animals, improving the quality of the lives of humans with disabilities and mental health issues.