... from Guns, Germs, and Steel chapter 6:
- "To Farm or Not to Farm" (p. 104) ... What were the causes of the spread of food production?
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Carlos De León
Social Studies Department Chair
Luther Burbank High School
04 October 2011
Guns, Germs, and Steel: To Farm or Not to Farm
Complete the following reading for homework ...
... from Guns, Germs, and Steel chapter 6:
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Carlos De León
Social Studies Department Chair
Luther Burbank High School
... from Guns, Germs, and Steel chapter 6:
-------------
Carlos De León
Social Studies Department Chair
Luther Burbank High School
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22 comments:
Most people really weren't conscious that they were becoming food producers, they just simply did what was to help them attain their necessities and as more people began to do this, the more people adapted it into their own area.(Page 108)
Some hunter-gatherers refused to take part of food production and remained hunter-gatherers, but the majority of them converted into the farming technique, though quite frankly, in some cases weren't necessarily better off than hunter-gatherers.(Page 105) Some eventually gave in to the attractions it brought with it and so it definitely spread across continents and islands.
The reason food production spread was because of the benefits one had. It was less time consuming and you could feed more people than you could while hunting and gathering. It allowed for one person to grow food and just sell it to people. Therefore people didnt have to move from place to place they could just settle and buy food.
''The much denser populations of food producers enabled them to displace or kill hunter gatherers by their sheer numbers, not to mention the other advantages associated with food production.''
Guns,Germs,and Steel
Chapter.6
To Farm Or Not To Farm
In chapter six of GGS, we learn why many people back then were hunter-gathers and not food producers. Food production was developed around 8500 BCE. There were four factors that helped us understand why the transition to food production began around 8500 BCE. They were: 1)the decline of the availability of wild foods. 2)the increased availability of domesticable wild plants. 3)comulative development of technologies on which food prodution would eventually depend. 4) The two way link between the rise in the human population and the rise in food production. (GGS, pp.109-111)
The causes of the spread of food production were four factors. The first factor was the decrease in the availability of wild foods. (p. 110) For example, in the Polynesian Islands, the first settlers were the causation to the decimation of the many of the sea and land birds which had increased their urgency to food production (p. 110 pg. 1). The second factor would be the difference in rewards in terms of the depletion of wild game and the increase in availability of domestic able plants for food production. An example of this factor would the end of the Pleistocene and the climate changes that had allowed to plants to prevail, thus allowing crops to be harvested in a short time – like the cereals wheat & barley in the Fertile Crescent. (P110 pg. 2) The third factor would be the uprising of technologies that would be used to collect, store and process the gathered wild foods, which could in turn possibly be used to unconsciously develop the first step to the domestication of plants (p. 110 pg. 3). Lastly, the fourth factor: autocatalytic process between the two link possibility – the increase in human population density and food production. This is said as such because it could be that as the population density increases it forced food production to begin or the beginning of food production allowed the increase in population density (p. 111 pg. 3-4). With this said, food production could possibly began by these four conceptual factors.
In a way you can say that food production arose accidently. The first people to become food producers did so unconsciously and were only experimenting with the land to try to find the most efficient way to acquire sufficient amount of food. (GGS pp.105 and 108) However there were many factors that influenced people to adopt food production. Among these factors was the decline of available food, an increased availability of domesticable wild plants,the development of technology which facilitated food production, a rise in population, and the displacement of hunters and gathers by food producers. (GGS pp.110) In my opinion, food producers themselves were primarily responsible for the spread of food production. They influenced their neighbors to become food producers and with germs, new technology, and the rise of population they easily displaced those who chose to remain hunters and gathers. (GGS pp 112)
The spread of food production grew through out the world to see if they could come up with a new system of managing food and getting other resources. It produce more time and less work labor. Itgives another way of food source such as agriculture unlike just depending in "hunting and gathering".
As I read chapter 6, I didn’t really understand how they started food production so late, since being a hunter gatherer is a simple task, but for them being a hunter gatherer was a hard task. As said, “They seemed to have to work hard, to be driven by the daily quest for food, often to be close to starvation, to lack such elementary material comforts as soft beds and adequate clothing, and to die young. Another thing I didn’t really understand was why was there a divide between hunter gatherers and sedentary food producers? An important sentence that was said , “ Sedentary groups probably made up a much higher fraction of hunter gatherers, 15,000 yrs ago, when all inhabited parts of the world ( including the most productive areas) were still occupied by hunter gatherers, than they do today, when the few remaining hunter gatherers survive only in unproductive areas where nomadism is the sole option.” By 11,000 B.C there were new inventions were made to deal with the people’s crops, which caused an increase in food production and then an increase in population? “Food production tends to lead to increased population densities because it yields more edible calories per acre than does hunting gathering.”
The decision of farming or not to farm depended on on the enviroment where humans lived.For example people who were hunters and gatherers in areas with plenty of resources did not find the need to use agriculture. The depletion of wild game forced thers to adopt agriculture to survive or else they would have been displaced by other neighboring groups.Those who decided to keep their hunting and gathering lifestyle lived in enviroments where agriculture could not be practiced. These types of enviroments prevented hunters and gatherers from being displaced by farmers (Farmers would not have survived using agriculture in theses places).
The choice of farming or not depended on the enviroment people lived in. Hunter and Gatherers who lived in places with plenty of resources did not find the need to use agriculture.When resources such as wild game depleted hunters ang gatherers turned to farming to survive or were displaced by neighboring groups who did practiced agricultre.Others who kept their hunting and gathering lifestyle lived in places where agriculture could not be practiced. ~GGS pgs.112-113.
Before food production everyone were hunter-gatherers.When food production became more popular some hunter-gatheres switched but some refused to accept their ways. "...and who nevertheless refused to accept its supposed blessings and instead remained hunter-gatherers."
The earliest predicted age hunther-gatherers adopted food production was around the year 8500 B.C. (GGS chap 6 page 104) There are many questions on why people waited so long to adopt to food production since it was a great way to get food and it was very stable. Also why did food production begin in various areas and at many different times? The explanation to these question is very complex. There are many causes of the spread of food production. For instance, hunther- gatherers had difficulties finding wild animals and plants which were their main food sources. Being able to hunt wild animals and find plants was not a stable way to get food, since many animals extinct in many areas and plants would at times take long to grow. For this reason hunther-gatherers changed to being farmers. Another cause of the spread of food production was that people were forced to practice it since neighboors around them did. Food production brought a rise in population, which led to the migration of many people and the change into food production. Food production was not an invention or discovery, it was a practice that evolved due to decisions made by hunther-gatherers without being aware of its consequences. (GGS chap 6 page 106) At many earlier ages food production was being practiced without awareness. Most areas of the world were suitable for food production, so this meant it had to be adopted without question. If hunther- gatherers were not displaced by neighboring food producers, they adopted food production themselves which was the only way to survive due to the scarcity of wild animals and plants. (GGS chap 6 page 112) In general food production had many causes to its spread. It had to be adopted in most areas although it took longer to do so in some than the others.
This section of G.G.S explains the differences between farming and hunting-gathering. Hunting-gathering was a big step foward in food process but it took time. Some people chose this method of food harvesting while others didn't have the choice to farm because they didn't know what it was or what it looked liked.
Farming was a good source for food but took time so hunting-gathering was considered an alternate food source.
Soon enough there was inventions to help harvest crops, which increased food production, which caused population growth. The groups of hunter-gatherers that addopted farming outbred those who didn't.
So there are many differences between these two methods of supplying food, from population to the supply/amount of food found/created.
Food production evolved as a result of decisions made without awareness of the consequences. Not all hunters and gatherers became farmers. Some hunter-gatherers refused to make that transfer. An example of farners would be the Indians of the Pacific Northwest because they settled in a land with amazingly rich soil so crops were easy to plant. The people who were in between were from New Guinea because tey had a season where papayas and bananas were planted and the rest of the time they were hunters-gatherers. Food production evolved step by step. Different plants and animals were domesticated at different times.
What I found interesting about this topic was that the world was generally divided into five main fertile regions during 8500 B.C.E. The most fertile being the fertile Cresent which developed independently in Southwestern Asia. The second most fertile being the land of Southwest Europe during 5500B.C.E. As for the three remaining regions(Califoria, Southwest Australia, and South Africa's Cape), agriculture was absent until after 1500 C.E.
"To Farm or Not to Farm" (p. 104)
This chapter talks about how farmer was different to hunting. One example was that the farmers caught many diseases (GGS page 105 paragraph 1.) Also farmers gain a more rewarding, but sometimes the terran would not help the farmers (GGS Page 112 Paragraph 3)
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Societies that decided to turn themselves into farming societies were the most prosperous ones in several factors. Growing foods rather than hunting-gathering allowed people to professionalize in other things. One big factor was the allowance of men to create lots of weapons and invent new ones since this was their only job. Farming allowed big populations to grow since there was more food available. This of course allowed armies to grown in massive numbers and attack less civilized societies. Hunting-gathering societies eventually realized that farming was a much more reliable food source and they as well saw what benefits came along with becoming farmers rather than the original hunting and gathering. As food production societies grew, they took over hunting-gathering societies and people learned that farming was a much more reliable method. Many societies began to switch to the farming method after being attacked or taken over by these groups of people. Eventually, pretty much everyone became agricultural civilizations after viewing what advantages it had over being hunter-gatherers. The only places where hunting-gathering never changed was where the geography around them were harsh conditions. For example, hunting-gathering societies that lived in the middle of deserts or in extremely cold places, These people were left alone all these years due to the fact that even if the food production societies took over them, they weren't able to grow any form of crops anyways. "..hunter gatherers met one of these two fates: either they were displaced by neighboring food producers, or else they survived only by adapting food production themselves."
Guns Germs, and Steel
Jared Diamond
Quoten taken from pg. 112
The Earth and Its Peoples
Hinduism became one of the most popular religions of today due to what happened many, many years ago. Hundreds of millions of people follow the Hinduism religion. The foundation of Hinduism was the Vedic religion from the Arya tribes of northern India. The main purpose in life of a Hinduism man was to reach the "moksha" stage. The Ganges river that is still here today was attended by many Hinduism people to praise their 3 gods. The fact that this religion consisted of educated priests and a lot of the beliefs made sense to the people, is why the religion of Hinduism has stuck around all these years and is still being followed and now consists of the most number of people following this religion. "The Brahmin priests emerged with their high social status and influence essentially intact."
The Earth and its Peoples
Quote taken from pg. 181 'The Rise Of Hinduism'
Many people adopted to the concept of food production.(GGS pg106)Food production wasn't a choice, it was actually evolved. Some people used hunting-gathering and food production both at the same time to keep themselves well feed.(GGS pg106) Others found food production to be harder and longer because there was a betther possibility to starve.(GGs pg105) Food production spead because of the neighboors of other neighboors and other people started witnessing food production and wanted to try it. In some places food production was everywhere and in other places it wasn't know, the reason why was because there were mobile food groups. (GGS pg106-107) Some people refused to use food production because they found it too difficult and in some places food production didn't work out because of the climate.
The spread of food production was caused by the adoption of farming rather than hunting and gathering. when you look at the two choices, the decideing factor is, which provides more in les time. there are many different factors to why farming was chosen over hunting and gathering such as, the decline in wild food availibility, depletionof wild game,new invetions, rise in human population, and the displacment of hunters and gatherers. People seeked to maximize yield with the greatest certainty in least time for the least effort.
There were several differences between Farming and Hunting and Gathering. the differences are hunting and gathering will only bring some foods home and only to a small group of tribes. for Farming it was a better way to go,if you had acres and acres of crops your family would have food all the time, but there were also the nutritional value of the tribe members so to say as a craving you needed the protein to by in the day and you also needed the crops to help alongside the meat.
In chapter 6 of Guns, Germs, and Steel: To Farm or Not to Farm, it talks about some factors that contributed to the spread of food production. These factors were the decline in availability of wild foods, an increase of domesticable wild plants, development of technologies, rise in population, and geographic boundaries (GGS pp. 110-113). All of these factors played a part in the spread of food production. Like it was mentioned in the book, back then being a hunter-gatherer was better than being a farmer due to the harder life that farmers had. There were many reasons for farming to not succeed, but it still grew and spread all over the world. Things such as population demanded for a better system of collecting enough food. Others such as the decline in availability of wild foods made people search for a way to have food all the time not just for that day. It obviously didn’t happen overnight but, with all of the factors affecting this same subject, farming finally did spread and became a successful way for obtaining food.
The hunter-gatherers had to convert to the alternate strategyof food production. By the decline of wild game the availability of wild animals and plants, technologies, and population growth. They had to convert to being farmers to survive. By doing that the decline of the wild animals and plants didnt matter anymore because they can feed allot of people by planting crops. There the hunter-gatherers all became farmers.
one of the causes of the spread of food production was just human interaction ounce it arose in an area people saw it and the results of it and how it was done and chose to do as they saw this eventually spread through out the areas.(GGS,chapter 6,page 108)
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