3. Why was domestication important?
Back to History 8 Agriculture Concepts
Domestication is the process of adapting wild plants and animals for human use. People first domesticated plants and animals about 10,000 years ago in Mesopotamia when the Younger Dryas began to end and the climate changed. The domestication revolution was the transformation of human society brought about by the domestication of plants and animal for food production that marked a change in the nature of societies and lead to more permanent societies that cultivated plants and kept farm animals.The first domesticated plants included wheat, barley, oats, lentils, types of peas, and other grains. These plants, especially the grains, could last for longer periods of time without spoiling and support larger groups of people. People also domesticated animals that were easy to manage in close proximity to dwellings and haad calm temperaments. Animals were used for a guaranteed supply of meat, milk, and hides used for clothing, storage, and shelters. The first domesticated animals were goats, followed by sheep, then cattle, pigs, and chickens, and later larger animals such as oxen and horses that were used for plowing and transportation. Dogs were originally domesticated to assist people when hunting but have ceased to serve these purposes. The domestication revolution resulted in the first successful effort by people to use social organization to gain greater control over the production of food, and it created a dependable food supply that led to an increased population density. The domestication of plants allowed fewer people to provide more food and led to advances in tools such as the plow. Eventually, these effects allowed people to trade and unleashed a chain of events that changed human societies.
Sources:
- Origins Manual, page 72 and 73
- http://education.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/domestication/
Pictures:
Yukiko Chevray
