Early Food Producers

Question 1

the Holocene period marks the beginning of what?

Answer 1

intensification of complexity in hunter gatherers
**approx 12,000ya

Question 2

describe what intensification of complexity meant for hunter gatherers

Answer 2

-the megafauna extinction meant they had to adapt to a new diet, they also experienced food shortages at times
-shifted to a more sedentary lifestyle
-greater reliance on plants and smaller animals **this was not seen prior to the Holocene
-Simple social ranking
-trade
-agriculture- broad spectrum collecting (forced adaptation)

Question 3

Archaic agriculture was seen where?

Answer 3

the Americas

Question 4

Other areas shifted towards agriculture during what time periods?

Answer 4

Mesolithic and Epipaleolithic

Question 5

define carrying capacity

Answer 5

the ability of an environment to sustain a density of population per sq. km

Question 6

what was the approximate carrying capacity of the world in 10,000BC?

Answer 6

8.5m people

Question 7

describe the mesolithic

Answer 7

late hunter gatherer/forager groups of the old world

Question 8

describe the epipaleolithic

Answer 8

hunter gatherers living in the middle east between 23,000 and 9,600cal BC

Question 9

how did tools change during the beginning stages of agriculture?

Answer 9

-became composite &specialized
-showed archaeological “cultures”
-technological culture- bows/arrow
-microliths

Question 10

what did the development of the arrowhead mean for humans?

Answer 10

-more portability
-they could hunt alone or in small groups
-more efficient than atlatls (which required multiple people to take down an animal & it was more dangerous)
-quick reload
-greater accuracy

Question 11

define intensive exploitation

Answer 11

harvesting great quantities of food in small slots of time
**ex/ shell middens

Question 12

what enabled domestication to occur?

Answer 12

believed to be intensive exploitation although there is no single hypothesis for how it actually started

Question 13

define agriculture

Answer 13

the cultivation of plants, raising, herding and processing animals for food

Question 14

define domestication

Answer 14

human control of plant and animal reproduction

Question 15

when did domestication replace foraging?

Answer 15

during the Neolithic period- 12,000ya

Question 16

what affects did domestication have on humans?

Answer 16

-altered social organization
-altered relationships & behaviour through establishing hierarchies

Question 17

what did domestication mean for natural reproduction of plants and animals?

Answer 17

they were either eliminated all together or manipulated intensely

Question 18

name the 3 past theories of domestication

Answer 18

-Oasis
-Readiness
-Population pressure

Question 19

define the Oasis Theory

Answer 19

**developed by V. Gordon Childe
- believed people observed plants and animals close to bodies of water and formed ideas about domestication, specifically in the middle east
-also stated the transition from agriculture was sudden– Neolithic Revolution

Question 20

define the Readiness Theory

Answer 20

**developed by Robert Braidwood
-believed domestication was a long, gradual process beginning in the Fertile Crescent/Mid. East.
-people had knowledge of plants, animals and technology

Question 21

define the Population Pressure Theory

Answer 21

**developed by Lewis Binford
- believed population growth was main drive for domestication
-where the environment was more favorable, people would migrate
-influenced by economists

Question 22

what are the 3 current domestication theories?

Answer 22

-Younger Dryas
-Human Behavior Ecology
-Niche Construction Theory

Question 23

what do the current theories on domestication believe?

Answer 23

environmental changes were the main reason for domestication

Question 24

define the Younger Dryas Theory

Answer 24

stated the return of glacial conditions (11,000-9,700BC) forced people to adapt to survive

Question 25

define the HBE theory

Answer 25

domestication was developed so people could share resources and participate in feasts
-this established social expectations and led to less return than processing larger crops

Question 26

define the Niche Construction Theory

Answer 26

**developed by Bruce Smith
-stated humans can manipulate their environments to increase productivity (ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING)
-done in favorable conditions when food supply is secured
**can handle losses

Question 27

define social complexity

Answer 27

societies which are no longer egalitarian
-relationships based on kin
-bureaucrats

Question 28

Sedentism and food production are sometimes linked to what?

Answer 28

food surpluses

Question 29

political complexity is linked to what?

Answer 29

social inequality and systems of control

Question 30

food production is linked to what?

Answer 30

social and political complexity

Question 31

what are the benefits of food production?

Answer 31

-increases carrying capacity
-controlled food supply
-can be practiced in many areas through manipulation of the environment

Question 32

what are consequences of food production?

Answer 32

-increased sedentism
-population increase
-stresses on health
-increased malnutrition
-increased epidemic disease
-environmental alteration
-diminished biodiversity
-new social & economic relations
-material emphasis on religion
-cultural competition