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Chapter 12: Civilization and Food Production (Terminology (Sedentism: live…
Chapter 12: Civilization and Food Production
Basics
Geologic Epoch: Holocene(14k-200ya). Trend of increased warming as glaciers recede.
Northern Hemisphere: Decline of Arctic Tundra, replaced with cold adapted forest, which is replaced with warm adapted deciduous forest. The extinction of megafauna forced people to find new means of making a living
Seasonal exploitation of plants and animals produced increased population and specialized tools
Europe: Neoltihic 14k-4kya. North America: Archaic 10k-3kya
Clear change to cultivation and domestication of plants and animals
Pre-Agricultural Developments
Near East
Increase in stationary resources: wild grains, nuts, legumes
fish, shellfish, wild deer, sheep, goats
Creation of new tools: micro blade sickles
intensification of plant resources likely increased sedentism
Example: Natufians. Permanent settlements, stone houses and hearths, storage pits, micro blade sickle for harvesting grain. Social differences in graves and houses
Europe
Increased reliance on plants, seafood, small game
Example: Maglemosians. ground stone axes &adzes for woodwork= canoes, paddles, timber houses . Bones and antler harpoons for fishing, bow and arrow. Relied on fish, shellfish, small game animals, hazelnuts and local plants
North America
Intensification of small game animals, plant species
ground stone for woodworking
plant processing, e.g. nuts
Mesoamerica
Archaic highland peoples, Mexico , seasonal movements
Macroband Camps: Seasonally abundant resources
Microband Camps: "Vertically oriented" resources
Summary
Climate change caused extinction of Megafauna
Broad-spectrum collecting due to new lithic technology
Increased sedentism caused population growth and increased intensification
Hypothesis for Sedentism
Population growth, reduced spacing between births = more babies. Baby foods (cereals) over milk
BMI differences between nomadic and settled women
Increase in child labour
Domestication
Plants
Larger plants --> larger/more leaves (Gigas Effect), more edible/medicinal plant parts
loss of dispersal mechanism: seeds stay on plant longer, making for easier, larger targets
How plants grow: indeterminate plants (grows until it dies) giving more harvests
Loss of seed dormancy: increased seed/fruit size, provides higher food value, allows for uniform germination of crops
select plants with desired traits, and eliminate undesirable plants
Animals
Increase in size, decrease in agression/fear
Morphological traits change in size and shape(decrease in size of sheep and goat horns)
Changes in age/ sex ratios: adults for breeding, young eaten
The Near East
Early domestication of Dogs (12 0000BP) happens before agriculture
Cereals, legumes, fruits and nuts after 8000 BC
Goats and sheep: 9000 BP
Cattle and Pigs: 8000 BP
Ali Kosh, Iran: intensive harvesting, emmer wheat, barley, goats, pigs, cattle. Eventual population explosion
Catal Huyuk, Turkey: flat roofed, square houses; Stone and bone tools(spatulas, bowls); Advanced farming (peas, wheat, barley, lentil)
Mesoamerica
HG Lifestyle with domesticated plants
Crops sown, then seasonal HGF, then returned for harvest
Squash, common bean, maize(teosinte), chia
Changes to teosinte: increased kernels, increased cobs, tough husk, single stalk, increase plant height
Beans: Nitrogen fixers; Squash: vines provide shade, maintain moisture; Maize: provide stems for climbing beans
Guila Naquitz, Mexico: seasonal use, deer and peccary hunted, beans, squash, maize, fruit and nuts
North America
Eatern woodlands: Squash, gourd
Goosefoot, marsh elder, little barley, knots mead, amaranth, sunflower
Dogs,turkey, llamas, alpaca
Other
Northern China: millet, pigs, chickens, dogs
Southern China: rice, bottle gourd, water chestnut, water buffalo, pigs, dogs
Thailand: gourds, betel nut, leaf
New Guinea: banana and Taro. Irrigation
Africa: Sorghum, millet, yams, donkey, guinea fowl
Models for Food Production
"Push and Pull"
Push = cultural groups pushed into cultivation by a stressor (environmental change or population pressure
More Likely
Pull= cultural groups drawn to the benefits of the new agricultural lifestyle
Gordon Childe 1950 "Oasis Model"
Climate change caused retreat of people and animals into oases, giving incentive to cultivate plants
Braidwood Critique: climate change wouldn't have been that drastic, but it did fluctuate so why would agriculture develop so late?
Binford/Flannery Model
Population pressure: need to maintain important plant and animal resources, which may have been required in marginal areas
Needed to grow plants and raise animals to support high populations
Climate Change model
Seasons developed, wild grains only available seasonally, so they stored for the 'poor' season
Consequences of Food Production
Environmental restraints
Arctic: short growing season = no agriculture
Tropics: shifting cultivation--> intensive agriculture
Environmental degradation
Accelerated population = intensive agriculture, could wreck the land
sedentism influenced population growth, reduced birth spacing
Increase in stable food production did not mean healthier people, meant a decline in human health (increased tooth decay, poor enamel formation, reduction in stature, decreased mean age at death)
Lower nutrition from crops meant increased disease in larger populations
Increase in material possessions: craft specialization, tools, weapons; household goods; jewelry, clothing, art, trade goods, grave goods
Social stratification: differences between classes: occupations, houses/structures
Terminology
Sedentism: live in single, permanent location
Subsistence ecology: Methods humans use to get their food. HGF: hunting, gathering, fishing
Food Procurement: subsistence depends on native resources
Ethnographic Analogy: recent historic H/G groups as model for past groups.
*Caution: changes in environments and behaviours; cultures are dynamic, so behaviours might not be applicable; interaction with modern cultures
Food production: subsistence economies dependent on cultivated or domesticated plants and animals
Cultivation: activities that increase the production or reliability of plants,: weeding, watering, fertilizing, tilling, storing and planting seeds
Domestication: humans intervene in lifecycle of plants and animals, making biological changes so that species come to rely on humans to survive and reproduce
Horticulture: small scale cultivation of various crops, with no artificial fertilization or irrigation . Use of shifting cultivation(short use, long fallow) or slash and burn(clearing land via burning)
Intensive Agriculture: fully domesticated crops in large permanent fields through use of natural or chemical fertilizers