Chapter 1 ~ THE ORIGINS OF FOOD Flashcards
Food Available (in general)
>deer > fruit >rabbit >nuts/seeds >fish >roots (all food is shared)
Challenges (in general)
a change in climate
[ northern hemisphere became suddenly cooler and drier causing a food storage]
Domestication of animals
. Definition
. Name a few processes
(Important)
- Is the process of using selective breeding to make wild plants and animals more useful to humans.
>living in settled communities | farmers could build animal enclosures
>Domestication animals ate food not needed by humans (grass)
>Selectively bred-herd number grew
> helping with farming tasks
> provided | milk, meat, cheese, clothes, butter etc.
What is agriculture?
- The practice of farming | including cultivation of soil for growing crops and the rearing of animals to provide food/wool & other products
Why would hunter-gatherers want to attempt agriculture?
> reduce risk of inadequate food supply due to unpredictability
reliable water source
more nutritious food supply
domestication of animals (other than food source)
How would this have impacted their nomadic lifestyle?
>no longer wanderers > settled in one place to care for crops/herd of animals >expand population >build stronger/ more permanent homes >communities trade with one another
Did climate play a role?
> Changes (end of ice age 10,000 years ago) meant big animals (such as mammoths/bisons could not survive
impact of distribution/ growing patterns of wild grains
as food became scarce, war erupted between competing tribes
Factors that facilitated the development of agriculture
access to water ~ immigration
Mesoamerica
> Built beds along the rivers banks in lower regions ‘pet kot’
similar to Mesopotamia but because the mountain landscape it was hard to maintain and build.
Mesopotamia
> They developed settlement along riverbanks
used irrigation cannals/waterways
built embankments along the canals ~ bring water further inland
crops : wheat, flax, barley, vegetable gardens, fruit trees.
Mesoamerica farming :
~Swidden farming
~Terraced farming
~Development of farming tools
Swidden farming ~ Slashing/Burning plants in rainforest to create fields of crops seeds for the crops planted in the ashes.
Terraced farming ~ Built terraces into the slopes of mountains, built out of walls of rock. Suitable for mesoamerica due to lack of flat land available.
Development of farming tools ~
Early tool developed out of city, stone and timber. Used ploughs pulled by animals create furrows in the soil.
Food available to early agriculture communities
Mesoamerica & Mesopotamia
Mesoamerica : >Maize >Winter squash >climbing beans >fruit trees >cacao
Mesopotamia : >Barley >Wheat >oats >lentils >dates (indigenous to region) > peas >fruits >veggies
‘The three sisters’
Important
Look at photo on PowerPoint/ White board
Features of a hunter-gatherer community
> Dependent on the natural food available
Moved when food ran out
Carried all their possessions
Small groups [kinship/tribes]
Women breastfeed for 4 years ~ until they could walk
Mbuti Pygmies : how do they live?
> bands/ kinship group
7-30 members per band
each member has their own hut
huts ~ beehive looking/ temporary [live for a month and leave when food supply runs out]
Mbuti Pygmies : Labour Divisions
> everyone considered equal/ have same rights
shares labour and caring for children
women in charge of ~ cooking, clearing, repairing huts, obtaining water.
Mbuti Pygmies : Food available in the rainforest
Animal ~ Monkey,elephants, fish larvae, crabs. Etc
Plant ~ leaves, roots, berries, fruits, termite mushrooms
In some seasons ~ beans, peanuts
Mbuti Pygmies : How do they forage & obtain food
> both genders gather and forage
women make nets and baskets
hunting done in groups of men, boys and women using spears and nets
Sami : How do they live?
> Lived in the region since the end of the last ice age
eat diet mainly meat based, with berries and herbs and reindeer milk
live in huts called ‘cots’ that have a fire in the middle
Sami : Labour Distribution
> worked together and shared the responsibility
neighbouring siidas respected the areas of other siidas
A Siida council oversaw a number of small family groups and made decisions and helped solve conflict.
Sami : Food Available
>berries and herbs >reindeer >elk >bear >salmon/trout >mountain sorrel >Angelica >roots >stalks
Sami : How do they forage & obtain food
> Used traps called ‘pitfalls’ to hunt deer
as communities become larger they domesticated reindeer
very good fisherman and caught salmon and trout and trapped beavers.
