Unit 5 - Chapter 12 Ag revolutions Flashcards
Seasonal Migration
Migrating according to the seasons between cooler/warmer, mountains/valley locations
Causes that led to the invention of Agriculture
Environmental factors - end of last ice age. Cultural factors - preferences for living in a fixed place.
How might have plant cultivation began?
Accidently - damaged or discarded food produced new plants. Experimentally - purposely dropping berries on the ground to see if new plants would grow
Early Agricultural Hearths
Southwest Asia - Barley and wheat
South East Asia - Rice
Americas - Beans, cotton, potato, maize (corn)
Africa - Sorghum, Yam
Columbian Exchange
occurred when Christopher Columbus made contact with the American continent (late 1400s)
Allowed for exchange of goods (foods/animals) and cultural traits between old and new world
What is old and new world?
Old world - Europe / Asia / Africa
New World - Americas
What plants transferred because of the Columbian exchange (New world)
Chocolate, Corn (maize), Pumpkin (All squash), Potato and Pineapple
What plants transferred because of the Columbian exchange (Old world)
Rice, Sugar cane, wheat, bananas, broccoli
What animals transferred because of the animal exchange (New world)
Turkey
What animals transferred because of the Columbian exchange (Old world)
Cattle, chicken, pigs, horses, sheep
What and where is the fertile crescent
In Southwest Asia. It forms an arc from the eastern Mediterranean coast up to what is now western Turkey and then south and east along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers through present-day Syria and Iraq to western parts of modern Iran
First Agricultural Revolution
11000 years ago. The shift from foraging to farming, marked the beginning of agriculture. Occurred at different hearths at different times
Societal Change no.1 in the first agricultural revolution
People went from being nomadic , to being sedentary or semisedentary.
What is Sedentary
settling in one place and making that place your permanent home
Societal Change no.2 in the first agricultural revolution
Living in a settled life also meant increased reliance on one place rather than the variety of places exploited by foragers
Societal Change no.3 in the first agricultural revolution
Farming practices in agricultural societies improved over time. Farmers learned how to farm efficiently with the use of new tools and practices
Societal Change no.4 in the first agricultural revolution
Increased efficiency in farming meant more food. Having more food supported a growing population, which provided more workers
Societal Change no.5 in the first agricultural revolution
As farms became more productive, some members of society were not needed to cultivate food. Instead of food production, the focused on other skills such as pottery-making and woodworking
Societal Change no.6 in the first agricultural revolution
Farmers produced some nonfood crops. An example is cotton and flax grown in the Nile River Egypt.
Societal Change no.7 in the first agricultural revolution
As societies became more productive, they became more complex. Larger settlements led to new forms of social organization.
Societal Change no.8 in the first agricultural revolution
Population growth meant larger and larger villages which eventually developed into the first cities.
Second Agricultural Revolution
1700s. Started by Britain. Introduced the enclosure system. Animal labor was replaced by machines. Farmers quit and moved to cities to work.
What is enclosure system
Communal lands (lands owned by communities) were replaced by farms that individuals owned. The use of this land is only for owner and their tenants
Societal change no.1 in second agricultural revolution
Enclosure system gave more control to farmers on how to use their land and led to more efficient farming practices.
Societal change no.2 in second agricultural revolution
Enclosure system pushes off peasants from the land and created a labor surplus. This contributed to the Industrial Revolution.
New tool no.1 from second agricultural revolution
Horse-drawn seed drill invented by Jethro Tull in England around 1701
New tool no.2 from second agricultural revolution
John Deere invented a steel plow that by 1838 made it easier to plow in deep, tough soil.
Societal change no. 3 in Second agricultural Revolution
the Four-Field system developed in Europe that prevented soil exhaustion and increased yields
What is the four field system
Land is divided into four parts and crops including wheat, turnips, barley, clover, etc. are rotated around each field every year.
Benefits of the four field system
The rotating of crops added to nutrients in the soil. Also fed livestock and promoted greater yields.
Societal change no.4 of the Second agricultural revolution
Population boom because more people had food, more nutritious diets and longer life expectancies
Third Agricultural Revolution
Happened in the 1940’s. Started from the U.S. Started using GMOs and synthetic chemicals
What are GMOs (Genetically modified organisms)
can enhance the ability of crops to resist disease or drought or to have more nutritional impact or consumer appeal.
Was there a fourth agricultural revolution?
Yes. Some scientists refer to the use of information technology and data analytics (during the 3rd ag revolution) as the fourth agricultural revolution.
Change no.1 in the third agricultural revolution
Adopting electricity greatly aided crop storage and preservation and enhanced livestock raising and dairy farming.
Change no.2 in the third agricultural revoltion
development of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Fertilizers helped make the fields more productive. Pesticides protected plants from destructive effects of insects, other pests, and diseases and boosted yields.
Green Revolution
Started in the 1970’s. Spread from core to peripheral countries. The U.S took GMOs to countries with low yields and large populations such as Mexico, India and Indonesia.
Impact no.1 of the third agricultural revolution
increased mechanism reduced the need for human labor
