Agriculture and Barley Farming Taro Essay

People from Polynesian islands
What do they have in common?
Same ancestry
Language
Culture
Resources and technology
Different environmental factors?
Area
Geological type – stone tools
Fragmentation – uneven landscape hinders agriculture
Climate
Water – agriculture
Temperature – suitable/unsuitable for crops
Isolation
Prevent interaction, acquisition of technology
Marine resources

Why have hunter-gatherers made the transition to become farmers? (in Fertile Crescent, Middle East)
Climate
Return to ice-age conditions (drought for 100 years) led to animals dying off, less food for hunter-gatherers
Right type of wild plants
Wheat and barley, hardy and able to survive in more extreme conditions, provide good nutrition
Farming more reliable
Hunting is not a very reliable source of food
Population
High population lead to need for more food, thus farming to get more food
Water
Drought so lack of water source, important to stay permanently near a water source
Sustainability
Farming is more sustainable in the long run
Technology
Tools to grow, harvest and store food

Different productivity of farming (type of crops) gives rise to inequality (down to geographical luck)
Taro & Bananas vs Wheat & Barley
Farming taro is much harder work, plant 1 by 1
Taro is low in protein compared to wheat & barley
Taro cannot be stored for long time

What are the benefits brought about by animal domestication?
Meat, milk for human consumption, better nutrition year-round
Wool, leather for protection against cold, used to construct tools
Eat unwanted food (parts of crops) and fertiliser to increase agricultural production
Muscle

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