The Domestication of the Human Species
Review
Unit 1: An examination of humans as a species, such as our metabolism (our dietary and nutritional needs), locomotion (us as a walking/running migratory species); thermoregulation (the process of keeping are energy hog brain cools through factors such as sweating and hairlessness), and reproduction (human babies remain in long states of helplessness which require community support).
Unit 2: The Late Pleistocene World. We explored ecological conditions while humans adapted to a wide variety of environments as we migrated around the world.
Unit 1: An examination of humans as a species, such as our metabolism (our dietary and nutritional needs), locomotion (us as a walking/running migratory species); thermoregulation (the process of keeping are energy hog brain cools through factors such as sweating and hairlessness), and reproduction (human babies remain in long states of helplessness which require community support).
Unit 2: The Late Pleistocene World. We explored ecological conditions while humans adapted to a wide variety of environments as we migrated around the world.
Unit 3: The Early Holocene World and the Origins of Agriculture
Caption: During the Late Pleistocene (above), scientists believe that in addition to the cold and dry conditions, low levels of atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2) levels were so low that they reduced the number of plants of grew on the Earth's surface. Therefore, agriculture may have been impossible during the last ice age(Richardson, et. al).
During the wet and warm Early Holocene and the drier Middle Holocene agriculture emerged around the planet. The human species transformed from being a migratory species to a sedentary one. |
Caption: During the Early Holocene (above), our planet was much warmer and wetter that the present. This created good conditions for the development of agriculture. However, these conditions possibly contributed to the widespread diffusion of diseases. Even though agriculture made more food available, the increased number of disease potential kept human populations low. During the Middle Holocene (right), climate conditions became similar to today. As we will explore in the next unit, this played a critical role in the development of human social and cultural complexity.
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Caption: Around 5,000 years ago, our planet turned climatically similar to how it is today.
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Domestication of the Human Species
Therefore, in many ways, it can be said that the domestication of plants and animals domesticated the human species at the same time. This unit will be governed by the following principles:
- Agriculture is a process that developed in many broad regions in different places across the globe. Most of the centers of agricultural development happened in areas where a variety of ecological conditions are near each other.
- The plants and animals involved in domestication were participants in the process. They had traits and features that allowed for them to be good candidates for partnerships with humans. As Tim Ingold stated, humans create the conditions necessary for the the reproduction and growth of these partners. We help each other to be successful
Learning Objectives and Final Product
Focus Questions:
Activities: Students, working in groups of 2-3, will take us on a virtual tour of their garden. We will end with a feast made with ingredients from your garden.
- When and where did the processes of domestication develop across the world?
- What were the advantages and disadvantages of the different plants and animals that were domesticated?
Activities: Students, working in groups of 2-3, will take us on a virtual tour of their garden. We will end with a feast made with ingredients from your garden.
Origins of Agriculture
Source:
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Source: http://itee.uq.edu.au/~dwood/OriginsOfAgriculture/
Geographic locations of earliest known agriculture. After Diamond [1] and McNeill [2].
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Source: Figure 1 (reduced), from the issue’s introductory article, The Origins of Agriculture: New Data, New Ideas: An Introduction to Supplement 4, by T. Douglas Price and Ofer Bar-Yosef. The original caption is: “Major centers of domestication and dates for earliest plants and animals. Illustration by Marcia Bakry.”
Americas
Large-Seed Grasses (Cereal) Crop Vegeculture (Roots/Tubers) Crops Ungulates (Large Hoofed Mammals) |
Afro-EurasiaMiddle Eurasia: [Fertile Crescent]: Rye, Emmer Wheat, Einkorn Wheat, Barley, Chickpeas, Lentils, Flax, Cows, Pigs, Sheep, Goats [Indus Valley]: Zebu, Water Buffalo (river),
Sahel: Pearl Millet, Sorghum, Watermelon, Watusi Cattle West African Rainforest: White Yams, Oil Palm, Okra, Black-eyed Peas, Voandzeia, Kola Nuts, Guinea Fowl West African Savanna: African Rice, Cowpeas, Fonio Ethiopian Highlands: Ensete, Teff, Fonio, Coffee, African Yellow Yam North China: Finger Millet, Broomcorn Millet, Foxtail Millet, Soybeans South China: Rice, Water Buffalo (swamp) New Guinea Highlands: Taro, Sago, Bananas, Sugarcane, Breadfruit, Coconut |
What's in Your Garden
Group Size: 2-3 Students
Activity: Select one of the agricultural centers above. Take us on a virtual tour of your garden. Include the following:
Evaluation
You will be graded on the following criteria.
Activity: Select one of the agricultural centers above. Take us on a virtual tour of your garden. Include the following:
- Geographical and ecological background through devices such as satellite images, physical maps, and pictures of the environment. Give us a sense of what it would like to go there.
- Pictures of the plants and animals in your garden. Explain the uses of the different crops.
- Prepare a dish from your garden to share with the class. Try to make it as authentic as possible. List the ingredients as originating from your garden or blended from a close by garden. Remember, ingredients between the Americas and Afro-Eurasia cannot be fused. Also, make a special note if you use Gluten, Dairy, or Nuts.
Evaluation
You will be graded on the following criteria.
- How well you showed the class the geographical location and setting of your garden. Make the class to feel that we are traveling to your garden.
- How well you show the class what is in your garden. Take us on a virtual tour of your garden. Explain to us about the plants and animals we will find there, and how they are used.
- Feed a meal to the class from your garden. The tastiness of the food that bring for the class. :)
- Overall Creativity and Presentation
- Your Productivity (hard-work) during this project.
Agriculture and Ecotones (Ecological Borders)
The Fertile Crescent: This region was well endowed with a large number of plants (barley, emmer wheat, einkorn wheat, rye, oats, chickpeas, lentils) and animals (cows, pigs, sheep, and goats) that were well-suited for partnerships with human. The plants thrived in the fertile, alluvial (river) soils of the region, and the animals came from the 'hilly flanks' to the north. An ecotone (an ecological boundary) similar to the one found here, was an important feature in the development of agriculture. Examine the maps below to see if you can detect this pattern in action.
NYT: How the First Farmers Colonized the Mediterranean by NICHOLAS WADE
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Agricultural Range Expansion
Often, the spread of agriculture is referred to as diffusion; however, it is better to think of it as a range expansion of our partner species aided by human help. The map on the bottom left shows the range expansion of the crops from the Fertile Crescent into Europe, and the map on the bottom right shows the range expansion of animals. Also, most mammals lose the ability to digest lactose (milk sugar) as they grow older in order to wean them off of their mother's milk. However, as milking culture diffused, many humans lost this trait. The genetic mutation that allows humans to drink milk is known as Lactose Persistence.
Source: Joachim Burger and Melinda Zelder. Der Spiegel.
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Was Farming a Mistake?
New interpretations show that people's living conditions and health became much worse after farming began. List 5 to 7 reasons of how people's lives became worse. Group these based on health or social issues, such as greater inequalities between men and women or rich and poor.
Was Adopting Agriculture Our Biggest Mistake? Challenging the Progressivist View of Human History
Is farming the root of all evil?
The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race
The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race
Was Adopting Agriculture Our Biggest Mistake? Challenging the Progressivist View of Human History
Is farming the root of all evil?
The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race
The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race