Pre-Modern Agriculture
Origins
Like all species, humans had to find a way to feed themselves. Like all animals, humans require basic nutrients such as proteins (e.g. for muscles), carbohydrates (e.g. for energy), fats (e.g. for insulation and protection), and essential elements such as vitamins. To acquire these nutrients, the first humans maintained the behaviours of their original ancestors, namely hunting and gathering of plants, nuts, fruits, etc. Under these conditions, most populations were small and nomadic, meaning that they moved across the landscape in function of the availability of food.It is difficult to specify exactly when the change from purely hunter-gatherer societies to more complex structures with cultivation occurred, but it is believed to have happened 10,000 or more years ago. In fact, agriculture may have developed in different areas over time. The planting of crops is thought to have first occurred in Southwest Asia just after the Younger Dryas in the early Holocene, about 9,500 B.C.. Grains of rye with domestic traits have been found in Syria at archeological digs and would have been from Epi-Palaeolithical (10,000+ B.C.) contexts. This suggests that rye would have been one of the first plant species to be domesticated. Eight plant species are considered the founding crops for human consumption at this time: emmer and einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chick peas, and flax. Research shows that wheat was the first species to be cultivated on a large scale.
By 7,000 B.C., two regions had developed significant crop production: 1. the fertile soil north of the Persian Gulf and around the Nile River, called the "Fertile Crescent"; and 2. China, which had rice and wheat as major crops. Animal domestication also occurred in the "Fertile Crescent" of the Middle East, with sheep and goats being the main animals. Gradually the ox was domesticated for labour in the crop fields as well. Maize appeared in South America in 3,000-2,700 B.C., and other species, such as the potato, tomato, pepper, squash, and several varieties of bean, were also developed. In Mesoamerica, Aztec and Mayan agriculture developed to become an essential part of their culture.
Development of intensive domestication of animals and crop production started around 5,500 B.C. with large plots of cultivated crops, organized irrigation, and the use of a specialized labour force. This change from a hunter-gatherer society to an agricultural society led to many changes, the most important being the settlement of human populations in specific regions - there was no need to remain nomadic. Settlements also allowed for greater population density. Another impact of agriculture was the establishment of “armies” to protect the croplands from other human populations and animals.
And the Rest is History
Agriculture and the possibility to provide stable nutrition led to the colonization of many regions of the world. The most famous periods include 1. Roman agriculture where, by the fifth century, Grecian farmers had developed practices such as crop rotation and northern Italian farmers started to use manure for soil fertilization; and 2. Chinese agriculture, which began around 5,000 B.C. and demonstrated complex systems such as the terraced rice fields (and gradually tea fields) in the Yunnan province, cattle plowing, and silk and cotton production. By the Middle Ages, large regions of the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain developed very complex agricultural practices and technologies such as irrigation systems, development of farm manuals describing breeding techniques, and introduction of new crops from Europe.An Early Look at the World Trade Organization
The 1400s brought new openings and opportunities in agriculture and agricultural exchange among continents. Explorers such as Christopher Columbus (inspired by Marco Polo), helped promote the exchange of different crops and animals across the world, improving the diversity of food that mainly Europeans were consuming. While tomatoes, maize, and potatoes became popular food in Europe, wheat was introduced for crop production in the Americas and became a dietary staple for colonists and native North, Central, and South Americans. This period of colonization of the New World led to the development of the Atlantic slave trade, Triangular trade, and the expansion of European powers into the Americas.The 1800’s and the Industrial Revolution
The advancement in breeding techniques improved yield per land unit by many times, especially in the largely virgin soils of North and South America. Other inventions such as greenhouses, storage silos, and grain elevators were beneficial for an expanding agricultural industry, allowing for greater production and storage of food. The discovery of the need for nitrogen and phosphorus as important crop fertilizers and vitamins for livestock led to the manufacturing of new chemicals for agricultural purposes. In 1881, a new machine arrived on the market with the ability of using fossil fuel: the tractor. This machine revolutionized the industry with the capacity to rapidly double the surface area plowed and able to be used for crop production.Unfortunately, along with this intensification of agriculture and especially the use of monocultures, agricultural systems became increasingly vulnerable. The most infamous period was the Irish Potato Famine (1845–1851), during which potato crops were devastated and around a million people died of starvation. Vulnerable agricultural systems meant that climate extreme conditions such as floods or droughts and pests became growing issues for farmers. There was a need to find solutions to these problems in order to increase production for an ever growing population and ensure food production stability.
