The Dawn of Agriculture

The activity of growing plants and cattle is known as agriculture. Agriculture was a crucial factor in the establishment of sedentary human civilization since it enabled humans to dwell in cities by creating food surpluses from tamed species. Agriculture has a long and distinguished history that spans thousands of years. Farmers began planting wild grains approximately 11,500 years ago, after collecting them for at least 105,000 years.

Domestication of pigs, sheep, and cattle began around 10,000 years ago. Plants were grown separately in at least 11 different parts of the world. In the twentieth century, industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture began to dominate agricultural production, even though nearly 2 billion people still relied on subsistence agriculture.

Modern agronomy, plant breeding, agrochemicals including pesticides and fertilisers, and technological advancements have greatly enhanced agricultural productivity while wreaking havoc on the environment. Selective breeding and contemporary animal husbandry methods have enhanced meat output similarly several, but they have generated concerns about animal welfare and environmental impact. This article will cover the dawn of agriculture, when did agriculture start and how did agriculture change the life of early humans.

About the Dawn of Agriculture

Paleoanthropologists think that the oldest fossil evidence of Homo sapiens, the anatomically modern human, dates back around 196,000 years. We have gotten our food by harvesting it from the wild for the great bulk of the time since our species first appeared on the evolutionary stage. 

Wild plant-based foods and fungus, including wild progenitors of several species that are commonly farmed today, were major mainstays in the palaeolithic diet. While the prehistoric hunt for wild animals is frequently represented as an epic battle against woolly mammoths, woolly rhinos, gigantic elk, and other prehistoric megafauna, early people often ate insects and scavenged the carcasses of deceased animals. 

People began a gradual move away from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle toward growing crops and keeping livestock as early as 11,000 BCE. Northern China, Central America, and the Fertile Crescent, an area in the Middle East that nurtured some of the world's first civilizations, are thought to have experienced the move to agriculture independently. Most of the agricultural animals we are acquainted with today were domesticated around 6000 BCE. Agriculture was prevalent on every major continent except Australia by 5000 BCE.

Early Man Farming

Agriculture, which began approximately 12,000 years ago and prompted such a shift in society and people's lifestyles, has been termed the "Neolithic Revolution." Traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyles, which humans have pursued since their origins, were abandoned in favour of permanent communities and a consistent food source. Cities and civilizations arose as a result of agriculture, and since food and animals could now be grown to fulfil demand, the world population exploded from about five million people 10,000 years ago to over seven billion now. In diverse regions of the world, no one cause, or combination of circumstances, drove people to start farming. 

Climate change during the end of the last ice age, for example, is considered to have produced seasonal circumstances that benefited annual plants like wild grains in the Near East. Increased pressure on natural food supplies in other parts of the world, such as East Asia, may have driven people to develop indigenous remedies. Whatever the reasons for its self-sufficiency, farming planted the seeds of the modern era.

Where did Agriculture Begin?

Humans began to shape nature to suit their needs approximately 10,000 to 15,000 years ago, and agriculture arose in several locations throughout the globe. We believe it started in Mesopotamia and spread to China, South America, and Sub-Saharan Africa, among other places. Scientists are expected to discover other locations where agriculture may have originated even earlier as we continue to investigate. Because it appears to correspond with the Neolithic period or new stone age the development of agriculture is frequently referred to as the farming neolithic age. The name Neolithic comes from the fact that stone objects from the Paleolithic period, or ancient stone age, were more polished and refined. 

The first agricultural revolution was most likely the cultivation of wild plant species and primitive animal husbandry. Humans were increasingly skilled at producing plants and livestock that best fit our requirements as time passed. Corn at the supermarket and pigs, cows, and sheep on a farm did not evolve separately in the wild. They are the result of tens of thousands of years of human selection and breeding from wild forms.

How Did Agriculture Change the Life of Early Humans?

Initially, early people hunted wild creatures and gathered fruits and nuts from trees. This was where they got their meals from. They relocated to another location when the resources at one location were depleted. They lived as though they were nomads. Agriculture, on the other hand, transformed their life. They began to produce crops in a single location. Cultivating crops and harvesting them after a set period necessitated them being in one location. 

As a result, they stopped moving from place to place in search of food, water, and shelter. They established communities near croplands, farmed fields, and manufactured weapons, stone tools, and ceramics. They also began to domesticate animals for a variety of reasons. Farming reduced this need for people to travel to get food. They began to live in established villages, where they produced food and kept livestock on the surrounding land. To defend themselves, they built stronger, more permanent houses and erected walls around their communities.

How did Agriculture Influence Human Settlement?

Agriculture allowed people to stay in one area continuously, and increasing food production allowed population density to rise well beyond what could be supported only via hunting and gathering. This increase in population density created a critical mass of individuals for infectious illnesses to survive and spread. In addition, some agricultural techniques, such as animal domestication, enhanced human-animal relations as well as interactions between various animal species. The perfect circumstances for the development of new infectious illnesses were created as a result of this cross-species mixing. Following historical events including commerce, conflict, and migration, disease epidemics were able to spread to new populations all over the world.

Conclusion

Agriculture is the process of producing plants and cattle. Farmers began growing wild grains approximately 11,500 years ago, after gathering them for at least 105,000 years. Pigs, sheep, and cattle were domesticated approximately 10,000 years ago. Around 6000 BCE, most of the agricultural animals we know today were domesticated. Agriculture gave rise to cities and civilizations, and since food and animals could now be grown to meet demand, the global population increased from five million people 10,000 years ago to nearly seven billion now.