Agriculture and Barley Farming Taro Essay

Agriculture and Barley Farming Taro Essay 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