Summarise and Compare the Evidence for the Development of Agriculture in South West Asia and North America.
Part 1
Summarise and compare the evidence for the development of agriculture in South West Asia and North America.
The two continents provide a very different insight into the development of agriculture. America with its slow alterations, for example the gathering that continued and the consistency of crops remaining in their natural habitat until much later for example the May grass. South West Asia reveals a different approach where although still gradual development the use of tools and grinders support the discovery of cultivation and domestication leading this continent towards villages and eventually civilizations with trade and travel as its force for change as early humans emulated and adapted. The southwest begins its agricultural shift in a position of power in comparison to the Americas. Varying plants and animals that could eventually be domesticated. The south west was ideal for hunting and gathering producing much flora and fauna with the 250mmr of rainfall. Significant changes occurred around 1100-9600 BC with the Younger Dryas cooling the terrain. Dependency on hunting may have proven a hardship and cultivation being more labour intensive yet reliable as means of control appears to have defined beginning as the environment returned and stabilised .By 6000BC agriculture proved successful and became widespread. This marked the beginning of the Neolithic villages and the eventual culture shift to ceramics and religion. North America had a later progress, the beginnings of cultivation began in Mesoamerica and may have spread north by migrates who imprinted their knowledge. Larger amounts of maize were discovered in smaller apparently less developed sites in South west north America showing an already developed cultigens in foreign terrain. South west Asia also saw a large spread out from the ‘hilly flanks’ referenced by Flannery. North America had limited cultigens in comparison to south west Asia. The Americas having s examples such as
Summarise and compare the evidence for the development of agriculture in South West Asia and North America.
The two continents provide a very different insight into the development of agriculture. America with its slow alterations, for example the gathering that continued and the consistency of crops remaining in their natural habitat until much later for example the May grass. South West Asia reveals a different approach where although still gradual development the use of tools and grinders support the discovery of cultivation and domestication leading this continent towards villages and eventually civilizations with trade and travel as its force for change as early humans emulated and adapted. The southwest begins its agricultural shift in a position of power in comparison to the Americas. Varying plants and animals that could eventually be domesticated. The south west was ideal for hunting and gathering producing much flora and fauna with the 250mmr of rainfall. Significant changes occurred around 1100-9600 BC with the Younger Dryas cooling the terrain. Dependency on hunting may have proven a hardship and cultivation being more labour intensive yet reliable as means of control appears to have defined beginning as the environment returned and stabilised .By 6000BC agriculture proved successful and became widespread. This marked the beginning of the Neolithic villages and the eventual culture shift to ceramics and religion. North America had a later progress, the beginnings of cultivation began in Mesoamerica and may have spread north by migrates who imprinted their knowledge. Larger amounts of maize were discovered in smaller apparently less developed sites in South west north America showing an already developed cultigens in foreign terrain. South west Asia also saw a large spread out from the ‘hilly flanks’ referenced by Flannery. North America had limited cultigens in comparison to south west Asia. The Americas having s examples such as
Bibliography: The Human Past Chapter 6 Trevor Watkins, Chapter 9 David L. Browman, Gayle J. Fritz, Patty jo Watson. David j Meltzer 2005 2009 Thames and Hudson Limited http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-02/ps-eaf020606.php http://www.archaeowiki.org/Abu_Hureyra