Blog: Chapter One (First Farmers), Sections: Breakthroughs to Agriculture to end of Chapter
Upon reading about the breakthrough to agriculture in our world, it struck me how everything seemed to be falling in place, as if everything was meant to be during the New Stone Age. I had never pictured it this way, and it made me question if this was just coincidence or if everything in our universe was planned. Regardless, it is always striking to realize that our ancestors were able to adapt to this, and their intelligence was the foundation for the future, our lives. For example, hunter gatherers had a "knowledge" of plants and life (p. 29), climate change benefited conditions for agriculture, and Homo sapiens migrated across the planet, leading to the emergence of new food collection technologies, the growth of communities, and the revolution of agriculture. The timing was also perfect, as the Ice Age was ending.
Another point I found interesting was that it is still a much-debated question what exactly triggered the transition to agriculture. Although we have the evidence of global warming, migration, population growth, and emergence of technology, as well as the evidence of the variety of plants and animals available in the Fertile Crescent region, the "cold dry spell" that arguably took place between 11,000 and 9500 B.C.E. is still a question. This ties back to our first day lecture when we questioned: How do we know if we can trust our sources? How can we be sure it actually happened? I think this is what makes history interesting - we get to examine, debate, and analyze our sources to draw the most logical conclusions, and it is a team-based and lifelong learning process at the same time.
It really strikes me how agriculture spread, through both diffusion (the spread of agriculture), and mere migration (p. 36). The gradual spread of something can be interestingly phenomenal because it involves a worldwide participation, yet it happens so naturally. Again, it seems as if everything was merely falling into place. It also reminded me how what we are reading about now was the foundation of how our agricultural world happens today. Some might argue that the study of the history agricultural revolution is no where near relevant, but I would disagree because in today's modern world, we sometimes take for granted our food sources. Everything we eat comes from somewhere. Through this passing of agriculture, our daily lives are made possible, everything is quick, convenient, and at our fingertips. All the societies that formed as a result of agriculture: chiefdoms, agricultural villages, pastoral, were the foundation for the complex societies we live in today.
Another point I found interesting was that it is still a much-debated question what exactly triggered the transition to agriculture. Although we have the evidence of global warming, migration, population growth, and emergence of technology, as well as the evidence of the variety of plants and animals available in the Fertile Crescent region, the "cold dry spell" that arguably took place between 11,000 and 9500 B.C.E. is still a question. This ties back to our first day lecture when we questioned: How do we know if we can trust our sources? How can we be sure it actually happened? I think this is what makes history interesting - we get to examine, debate, and analyze our sources to draw the most logical conclusions, and it is a team-based and lifelong learning process at the same time.
It really strikes me how agriculture spread, through both diffusion (the spread of agriculture), and mere migration (p. 36). The gradual spread of something can be interestingly phenomenal because it involves a worldwide participation, yet it happens so naturally. Again, it seems as if everything was merely falling into place. It also reminded me how what we are reading about now was the foundation of how our agricultural world happens today. Some might argue that the study of the history agricultural revolution is no where near relevant, but I would disagree because in today's modern world, we sometimes take for granted our food sources. Everything we eat comes from somewhere. Through this passing of agriculture, our daily lives are made possible, everything is quick, convenient, and at our fingertips. All the societies that formed as a result of agriculture: chiefdoms, agricultural villages, pastoral, were the foundation for the complex societies we live in today.
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