History of agriculture

<a href="/facts/Agriculture/TGztqzJs">Agriculture</a> began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of <a href="/facts/Taxon/caQC1e87">taxa</a>. At least eleven separate regions of the <a href="/facts/Old_World/jt02swyQ">Old</a> and <a href="/facts/New_World/dzUuo3Xl">New World</a> were involved as independent <a href="/facts/Centers_of_origin/sEExz83Q">centers of origin</a>.
The development of agriculture about 12,000 years ago changed the way humans lived. They switched from nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyles to permanent settlements and farming.
Wild <a href="/facts/Cereal/ao2WcFdM">grains</a> were collected and eaten from at least 104,000 years ago. However, domestication did not occur until much later. The earliest evidence of small-scale cultivation of edible grasses is from around 21,000 BC with the <a href="/facts/Ohalo_II/qCjF9oyh">Ohalo II</a> people on the shores of the <a href="/facts/Sea_of_Galilee/8NTHIfuL">Sea of Galilee</a>. By around 9500 BC, the eight <a href="/facts/Neolithic_founder_crops/6qmYVyuA">Neolithic founder crops</a> – <a href="/facts/Emmer_wheat/htap49YH">emmer wheat</a>, <a href="/facts/Einkorn_wheat/tQ3MtIJN">einkorn wheat</a>, <a href="/facts/Barley/GH7X2qtG">hulled barley</a>, <a href="/facts/Pea/hlndxpId">peas</a>, <a href="/facts/Lentil/GUuCEt0o">lentils</a>, <a href="/facts/Vicia_ervilia/nIe0tTAr">bitter vetch</a>, <a href="/facts/Chickpea/gRKRpqWp">chickpeas</a>, and <a href="/facts/Flax/rm28CMyJ">flax</a> – were cultivated in the <a href="/facts/Levant/uuJLt3Af">Levant</a>. <a href="/facts/Rye/LwdwSNcp">Rye</a> may have been cultivated earlier, but this claim remains controversial. Regardless, rye's spread from Southwest Asia to the Atlantic was independent of the Neolithic founder crop package. <a href="/facts/Rice/wvL1hBCz">Rice</a> was domesticated in China by 6200 BC with earliest known cultivation from 5700 BC, followed by <a href="/facts/Mung_bean/wAlAaUsW">mung</a>, <a href="/facts/Soy/reNwxvo2">soy</a> and <a href="/facts/Azuki_bean/AaQz9D3x">azuki</a> beans. Rice was also independently domesticated in West Africa and cultivated by 1000 BC. <a href="/facts/Pig/b5wxwdDY">Pigs</a> were domesticated in Mesopotamia around 11,000 years ago, followed by <a href="/facts/Sheep/cjkJyI4f">sheep</a>. <a href="/facts/Cattle/44qV9B6S">Cattle</a> were domesticated from the wild <a href="/facts/Aurochs/HnJHxa12">aurochs</a> in the areas of modern Turkey and India around 8500 BC. <a href="/facts/Camel/UGvEayFf">Camels</a> were domesticated late, perhaps around 3000 BC.
In <a href="/facts/Sub-Saharan_Africa/p4u389aa">subsaharan Africa</a>, <a href="/facts/Sorghum/D1KNhtdT">sorghum</a> was domesticated in the <a href="/facts/Sahel/LEmEpoaR">Sahel</a> region of Africa by 3000 BC, along with <a href="/facts/Pearl_millet/UuR51eR7">pearl millet</a> by 2000 BC. <a href="/facts/Yam_(vegetable)/b0E3kuD1">Yams</a> were domesticated in several distinct locations, including West Africa (unknown date), and <a href="/facts/Cowpea/FRGaaWKt">cowpeas</a> by 2500 BC. <a href="/facts/Rice/wvL1hBCz">Rice</a> (<a href="/facts/Oryza_glaberrima/RHKnMWTb">African rice</a>) was also independently domesticated in West Africa and cultivated by 1000 BC. <a href="/facts/Teff/ds4eIsnn">Teff</a> and likely <a href="/facts/Finger_millet/5wpsopws">finger millet</a> were domesticated in <a href="/facts/Ethiopia/LVujNp5v">Ethiopia</a> by 3000 BC, along with <a href="/facts/Guizotia_abyssinica/kTJhgEnT">noog</a>, <a href="/facts/Ensete/pJ7J94bY">ensete</a>, and <a href="/facts/Coffee_bean/cjxmAQwK">coffee</a>. Other plant foods domesticated in Africa include <a href="/facts/Watermelon/Tvtd0dDa">watermelon</a>, <a href="/facts/Okra/2cI06uLm">okra</a>, <a href="/facts/Tamarind/GNe0MqCh">tamarind</a> and <a href="/facts/Black_eyed_peas/M3XuzzWk">black eyed peas</a>, along with tree crops such as the <a href="/facts/Kola_nut/mlfXuXIk">kola nut</a> and <a href="/facts/Elaeis/KuHCjCbM">oil palm</a>. <a href="/facts/True_plantains/XoCILK6n">Plantains</a> were cultivated in Africa by 3000 BC and <a href="/facts/Banana/D6r2qPPq">bananas</a> by 1500 BC. The helmeted <a href="/facts/Guineafowl/Ypvv3NMB">guineafowl</a> was domesticated in West Africa. <a href="/facts/Sanga_cattle/vlwaIXdu">Sanga cattle</a> was likely also domesticated in North-East Africa, around 7000 BC, and later crossbred with other species.
In South America, agriculture began as early as 9000 BC, starting with the cultivation of several species of plants that later became only minor crops. In the <a href="/facts/Andes/a4wlgG3e">Andes</a> of South America, the <a href="/facts/Potato/F8jRVExs">potato</a> was domesticated between 8000 BC and 5000 BC, along with <a href="/facts/Phaseolus/3JLzd8wX">beans</a>, <a href="/facts/Squash_(plant)/obYd9RFa">squash</a>, <a href="/facts/Tomatoes/3d5Xsqw7">tomatoes</a>, <a href="/facts/Peanut/dMd0XWsu">peanuts</a>, <a href="/facts/Coca/wWM86JDa">coca</a>, <a href="/facts/Llama/k8q7YN1H">llamas</a>, <a href="/facts/Alpaca/RPNA1y3K">alpacas</a>, and <a href="/facts/Guinea_pig/gRXC2qNN">guinea pigs</a>. <a href="/facts/Cassava/KvjKQDkV">Cassava</a> was domesticated in the Amazon Basin no later than 7000 BC. <a href="/facts/Maize/lJ6c5xMH">Maize</a> (Zea mays) found its way to South America from <a href="/facts/Mesoamerica/cFjUFklr">Mesoamerica</a>, where wild <a href="/facts/Teosinte/g2NwEeWr">teosinte</a> was domesticated about 7000 BC and <a href="/facts/Selective_breeding/CAkkM2UG">selectively bred</a> to become domestic maize. <a href="/facts/Cotton/efXRcjbn">Cotton</a> was domesticated in <a href="/facts/Peru/dBt7XrYD">Peru</a> by 4200 BC; another species of cotton was domesticated in Mesoamerica and became by far the most important species of cotton in the textile industry in modern times. Evidence of agriculture in the <a href="/facts/Eastern_Agricultural_Complex/bnVpJ5fF">Eastern</a> United States dates to about 3000 BCE. Several plants were cultivated, later to be replaced by the <a href="/facts/Three_Sisters_(agriculture)/Rboj4Ybk">Three Sisters</a> cultivation of maize, squash, and beans.
<a href="/facts/Sugarcane/925qszH4">Sugarcane</a> and some <a href="/facts/List_of_root_vegetables/sRIp07x9">root vegetables</a> were domesticated in <a href="/facts/New_Guinea/qB0bzfSH">New Guinea</a> around 7000 BC. <a href="/facts/Banana/D6r2qPPq">Bananas</a> were cultivated and <a href="/facts/Hybrid_(biology)/pzVJ54xU">hybridized</a> in the same period in <a href="/facts/Papua_New_Guinea/RLaVlhFC">Papua New Guinea</a>. In <a href="/facts/Australia/qLHpbppq">Australia</a>, agriculture was invented at a currently unspecified period, with the oldest eel traps of <a href="/facts/Budj_Bim/SmeNcPwn">Budj Bim</a> dating to 6,600 BC and the deployment of several crops ranging from yams to bananas.
The <a href="/facts/Bronze_Age/c09qWcTt">Bronze Age</a>, from c. 3300 BC, witnessed the intensification of agriculture in civilizations such as <a href="/facts/Mesopotamia/f0mmbhTK">Mesopotamian</a> <a href="/facts/Sumer/bxRz093q">Sumer</a>, <a href="/facts/Ancient_Egypt/BDsEGK4g">ancient Egypt</a>, <a href="/facts/Kerma/10NRx6sM">ancient Sudan</a>, the <a href="/facts/Indus_Valley_civilisation/6xM4aK23">Indus Valley civilisation</a> of the <a href="/facts/Indian_subcontinent/0XUWGXpx">Indian subcontinent</a>, <a href="/facts/Ancient_China/TNqRSvQ4">ancient China</a>, and <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greece/PTVBrWXq">ancient Greece</a>. From 100 BC to 1600 AD, world population continued to grow along with land use, as evidenced by the rapid increase in <a href="/facts/Methane_emissions/IrclnYfB">methane emissions</a> from cattle and the cultivation of rice. During the <a href="/facts/Iron_Age/mpQYShI0">Iron Age</a> and era of <a href="/facts/Classical_antiquity/JBq8vEX9">classical antiquity</a>, the expansion of <a href="/facts/Ancient_Rome/cGqIuxPd">ancient Rome</a>, both <a href="/facts/Roman_Republic/Han0FRLT">the Republic</a> and then <a href="/facts/Roman_Empire/l4E1aUuV">the Empire</a>, throughout the <a href="/facts/Ancient_Mediterranean/JBq8vEX9">ancient Mediterranean</a> and <a href="/facts/Western_Europe/YmWlV59w">Western Europe</a> built upon existing systems of agriculture while also establishing the <a href="/facts/Manorial/bvqYxBcJ">manorial</a> system that became a bedrock of medieval agriculture. In the <a href="/facts/Middle_Ages/RqzEKB9v">Middle Ages</a>, both in Europe and <a href="/facts/Arab_Agricultural_Revolution/fyzPl7cJ">in the Islamic world</a>, agriculture was transformed with improved techniques and the diffusion of crop plants, including the introduction of sugar, rice, cotton and fruit trees such as the <a href="/facts/Orange_(fruit)/qQdDNeL4">orange</a> to Europe by way of <a href="/facts/Al-Andalus/JTNmWTzP">Al-Andalus</a>. After the <a href="/facts/Voyages_of_Christopher_Columbus/aaGJJPbG">voyages of Christopher Columbus</a> in 1492, the <a href="/facts/Columbian_exchange/xaYrED8p">Columbian exchange</a> brought New World crops such as <a href="/facts/Maize/lJ6c5xMH">maize</a>, <a href="/facts/Potato/F8jRVExs">potatoes</a>, <a href="/facts/Tomato/3d5Xsqw7">tomatoes</a>, <a href="/facts/Sweet_potato/CFN3IMdj">sweet potatoes</a>, and <a href="/facts/Manioc/KvjKQDkV">manioc</a> to Europe, and Old World crops such as wheat, barley, rice, and <a href="/facts/Turnip/dIkKUdIG">turnips</a>, and livestock including horses, cattle, sheep, and goats to the Americas.
<a href="/facts/Irrigation/RWX5PEgK">Irrigation</a>, <a href="/facts/Crop_rotation/yeqbveKE">crop rotation</a>, and <a href="/facts/Fertilizer/ysh3r6NJ">fertilizers</a> were introduced soon after the <a href="/facts/Neolithic_Revolution/P5tLdcgU">Neolithic Revolution</a> and developed much further in the past 200 years, starting with the <a href="/facts/British_Agricultural_Revolution/JCXGhnwU">British Agricultural Revolution</a>. Since 1900, agriculture in the developed nations, and to a lesser extent in the developing world, has seen large rises in productivity as human labour has been replaced by <a href="/facts/Mechanized_farming/cwCcMRQC">mechanization</a>, and assisted by synthetic fertilizers, <a href="/facts/Pesticide/Uhf4KnwJ">pesticides</a>, and <a href="/facts/Selective_breeding/CAkkM2UG">selective breeding</a>. The <a href="/facts/Haber_process/DMlVT2WP">Haber-Bosch process</a> allowed the synthesis of <a href="/facts/Ammonium_nitrate/aSc96wBX">ammonium nitrate</a> fertilizer on an industrial scale, greatly increasing <a href="/facts/Crop_yields/hmE59fhk">crop yields</a>. Modern agriculture has raised social, political, and environmental issues including overpopulation, <a href="/facts/Water_pollution/SCUhUYqB">water pollution</a>, <a href="/facts/Biofuel/RWu7b6Y3">biofuels</a>, <a href="/facts/Genetically_modified_organism/6emCmpsc">genetically modified organisms</a>, <a href="/facts/Tariff/NCluKCm2">tariffs</a> and <a href="/facts/Farm_subsidies/V9aXphAk">farm subsidies</a>. In response, <a href="/facts/Organic_farming/Rce4nxdU">organic farming</a> developed in the twentieth century as an alternative to the use of synthetic pesticides.

History of agriculture open-in-new

History of agriculture