Learning about the development of farming through archaeology

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Learning about the development of farming through
archaeology
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Before they switched to farming, humans got all
their food from wild plants and animals in their
environment.

• They hunted wild game like deer, wild pigs, and
  large birds.
• They collected wild fruits, berries, and nuts.
• They fished and collected shellfish and crabs.
• They gathered wild tubers (root vegetables, like
  potatoes and carrots), vegetables, and grains.

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For thousands of years humans lived like this.
But then, around 10,000 years ago humans started
to domesticate plants and animals and adopt a
farming way of life.
WHY????

• Maybe farming was easier and less time consuming
  then hunting and gathering
• Perhaps farming was more reliable then hunting
  and gathering and promised food all year round
• Or, maybe farming just provided more food for a
  greater number of people

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• Farming definitely wasnt easier then hunting
  and gathering. Early farmers would have had a
  very rough time and were highly dependent on the
  weather. If a drought came, they couldnt simply
  walk to a different area like hunter gatherers.

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• Also, from looking at human bones archaeologists
  have found that farmers were NOT healthier then
  hunter gatherers. They now lived in the same
  place instead of moving around and so, unlike
  hunter gatherers, they couldnt move when an area
  got dirty and full of trash. This caused a lot
  more disease.

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• Archaeologists have found that in the late
  Paleolithic, certain regions had grown a great
  deal in population so that this was likely
  putting a strain on the available resources. This
  is probably what pushed humans towards farming.

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What are some things that are necessary for
farming?
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How do you think each of these things would be
reflected in the archaeological record? In other
words, what would archaeologists find, hundreds
or even thousands of years later?
FIELDS?
Animals?
Ancient plow marks
And if youre lucky SEEDS!!
Fences?
Tools?
Post holes
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As you have learned, there are many areas that
independently developed agriculture. Which one
was first?
The Near East
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What does domestication mean?
To train plants and animals to be useful to
people.
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Domestication changes how plants and animals
behave so that, over time, they end up looking
different from their wild cousins.
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When archaeologists find animal or plant remains
at a potential early agriculture site, they first
need to determine whether they are wild or
domesticated.
How do they do that?
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By comparing features on bones from modern
domesticated and wild animals. Over time,
archaeologists have been able to figure out the
sequence of changes that take place in the
features of the plant or animal.
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What types of plants were domesticated in the
Near East?
Muskmelon (now developed into cantaloupe,
honeydew, etc)
Barley and Wheat
Lentils
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
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New Tools in the Neolithic (New Stone Age)
Pottery
Sickles and other harvesting tools
Grinding Stones
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The domestication of plants and animals
dramatically changed the way humans interacted
with their environment.
Now, instead of merely living within their
environment, humans were managing it.
Domesticated animals and plants now depend on
humans for their survival.
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What are some ways, other then farming, that we
manage our environment today?

• Planting flowers simply for their beauty
• Growing plants where they do not belong (like
  palm trees here in Tucson)
• Designating certain areas to remain wild- like
  the National Parks
• Keeping animals as pets and breeding them for
  certain traits (think of all the different kinds
  of dogs there are today and how different they
  look!!)
• In fact, everything around us in cities and
  suburbs is managed by humans

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Even though population growth was the CAUSE of
the adoption of agriculture, it was also the
RESULT.
As a result of farming 1) More food is produced
for more people 2) But more people are needed to
do all the work required So people began having
more children to fill this demand. Furthermore,
hunter gatherers cannot have too many children at
a time people they are continuously moving. This
isnt a problem for farmers.
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Çatalhöyük A Neolithic City in Turkey
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Excavations at Çatalhöyük