Chapter 2 Agriculture Revolution

Agriculture began around 12,000 years ago.  It was called often the Neolithic or Agricultural Revolution, it was speaking of the cultivation of particular plants as well as the taming and breeding of particular animals.The coming of agriculture brought a transformation of human life all across the planet and was the foundation for important resources such as growing populations, settled village,
empires and civilizations, and even writing and literature.

Agriculture is the basis for almost all human developments since.

Agriculture brought about a new relationship between humans and other living things.

It is actively changing what they found in nature rather than just using it, shaping landscapes, and selective breeding of animals.

Agriculture allowed the domestication of nature such as plants and animals that humans came to rely on and soon lost gathering and hunting skills. The agricultureal revolution soincided with the end of the last ice age and the end of ice age coincided with human migration across earth. Global warming started around 16,000 years ago and ice age was over by 11,000 years ago. The warmer, wetter weather allowed more wild plants to grow. Gathering and hunting people had learned ways to manage the natural world which lead to the "broad spectrum diet".  They developedof sickles and baskets along with other tools to make use of wild grain. Soon gathering and hunting peoples started to establish more permanent villages especially in resource rich areas.  The population growth led to a food crisis.  They were depended on the plants and animals that were available in their regions. Only a few hundred plant species and 14 large mammal species were domesticated. Agriculture spread in two ways; by diffusion (gradually spread of techniques and perhaps plants and animals, but much more movement of human population) and colonization or migration of agricutural peoples. With the spread of agriculture came the spread of language and culture. The globalization of agriculture took about 10,000 years. the culture of agriculture lead to much greater populations and changes in world population (from 6 million people to 50 million in 5,000 years).  Farming did not necessarily imporve life for ordinary people and meant that much more hard work was needed.  In early agricultural societies health deteriorated and new diseases from interaction with animals became more common.