Introduction
It brings a very important shift in the populations’ way of living from nomadic lifestyle of hunting- gathering to farming and herding animals. By it we indeed mean the shift which happened thousands of years back that changed the very basics of how man lived, where he worked, how he worked, and how he related to his surroundings. I believe thatawareness of the advantages and indications of the early agriculture is vital for realization of the change in our society and most importantly for knowing the difficulties that humanity faces in the process of the search for the improved and sustainable ways of living.
The Birth of Agriculture
Mesopotamia, Asia, Africa, Egypt and Europe were among the earliest areas where people realized that farming food and livestock can be much more profitable than hunting animals ad gathering food throughout the year. This change was caused by many factors some of which include; population pressures, environmental changes, the growth of knowledge, and technology.
By the time that communities started to densely settle in different areas, hence farming, food production became stable and there was greater output which called for growth in population densities as well as new formations of a social structure. The advances in tools, storage and preservation were triggered by the emergence of agriculture that served as part a means of receiving increased return on investments in food production technologies.
The Advantages of Early Agriculture
Increased Food Supply
The first advantage of early agriculture indicated by Brough (2006, p. 143) was the procurement of predictable and stable food production. Practicing agriculture required people to fell trees, clear lands and eventually grow crops and tend animals to provide a kind of food source which eliminated the need for canned foods that are sometimes scarce if you wanted to remain in the tribal ways. This made it become easy for people to start settling down in areas because they were not always on the move looking for food stuffs.
Other evolution which enhanced food security were: crop diversification where several crops were grown and diverse livestock production, where many species were reared. This made increased the general standard of nutritional them and minimized incidences of food crunch or famine.
Population Growth
The changes in agriculture led to the availability of food to feed a much large number of people thus increasing on the population size. When they could support more people in the community the organization of social relations, differentiation of work, and distinct roles became more defined. This in return called for growth in trade activities, increase in wealth levels, growth of technology and development of other cultures.
The reason for the population explosion that stemmed from shift from nomadic culture to a farming culture could also be attributed to the quality of life offered by the later. Having a stable and regular supply of the principal necessity for living and having consistent opportunities of organizing food storage permitted communities concentrate to other essential aspects of a human’s life, including health care, education, and arts, which contributed to the presence of added value for the individuals.
Technical Changes
Agriculture encouraged the development of more technologies since people aimed at increasing the yield of crops which they grew. Tools like plows hoes and sickle were invented to ease the process of cultivation and harvesting of crops. About the measures, improvements in the means of storing and preserving food through construction of granaries and fermentation made great progress contributed to improve in the food availability all through the year.
In addition, the demands for water and pest control defined the evolution of irrigation equipment, crop succession, and natural fertilization of the fields, – all the developments that contributed to bringing forward the principles of today’s agriculture.
Early Agriculture Disadvantages
Environmental Impact
In this paper, early signs of agriculture are discussed to have offered numerous benefits although these came with corresponding adverse impacts on the environment. Land clearing for agriculture and raising of livestock made deforestation, erosion of soil and Natural resources depletion common. This in turn lead to premature destruction of balance of diversification of life forms and many species of plants and animals.
Just like other factors that accelerated land degradation and affecting the amount and quality of available water through the use of water resources in irrigation and the growing of water hungry crops such as effects of population pressures was also heavily elaborate on resulting in depletion of ground water basal resources and water quality as well.
Health Consequences
How sedentary lifestyle and our dependence on a limited set of plant foods that resulted from early stages of farming affected human health is discussed below. Two fairly recently developed illnesses, malaria and tuberculosis, were directly associated with population density and the domestication of animals.
Social Inequalities
It was also culturally relevant societal for rise of agriculture with subsequent changes in access of wealth and power by different stakeholders. Land and possession, control or capability in creating and preservation of food surpluses became crucial determinants of power within societies.
Demographics changes that took place following the end of the war also contributed to formation of some social stratification and privileged upper classes with major say in society owning large pieces of land and employing the rest of the population. The main social effects of colonization resulted from the discrimination of such groups as the landless and nomads with the ensuing consequences for social differentiation.
To be Participants of Modern Agriculture
For anticipating the postscript of the keynote address for the early agricultural epoch and for envisioning the future and present, it is perhaps pertinent to look back to learn what has been done right or wrong and what could be done right or wrong in the future agriculture. Technological innovation and scientific and globalization advances have equipped us with what we would need to fix the environmental and social problems that arose with the first transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture.
It means that the modern farms can use the proved techniques like crop rotation or integrated pest management, and can switch to renewable energy sources. Furthermore, the combination of resources pertaining to the food chain, encouraging small holder and marginal farmers, and fair way of distribution of land and resources, can lead to a fair environment in agricultural sector.
Conclusion
It is a significant period and evidence shows that with early agriculture the relationship man had with his environment and his fellow man evolved into forms that continue to have a profound impact on humanity up to the present. Even though there appeared advantages in the section of increase in food supply, increase in population, and the technological developments, the demerits part such as de grading of environment, health impacts, and social imparity we cannot turn a blind eye on them.
Looking at these challenges and the continuing struggling of the human civilization of the modern period, it is necessary to study the lessons of ancestors and try to establish the efficient kind of agriculture in the relation to the tendencies of constant development in future. A better understanding of early agriculture can help clear the path toward improving the relationship between food producers and consumers to ensure that both gain maximum benefit from food production while having minimal-negative effects on the environment, thus helping to create a stronger more prosperous global society.
FAQs
- What were the main causes of rise of early agriculture?
The change to early agricultural practices might have been caused by some reasons such as growth in population pressure, changes in the environment as well as the new acquirement in learning and technology. That is why, when people started realizing benefits of farming and cattle breeding in comparison with the nomadic hunting and searching for edible plants, they started to build and develop more permanent and productive food supply. - What were the effects of early agricultural practices on environment?
Usually the first attempts at farming proved more prejudicial to the environment, which saw increased rates of deforestation, soil erosion, and general resource depletion. This gren clearly led to the loss of variety of plant and animal species and thus the changes of ecosystems and loss of many a species of plant and animals. Irrigation and culture of water-hungry crops also played dramatically in spoiling the quality of water and exhaust the groundwater. - Discuss the social impact of sedentary life styles undertaken by settlers.
This shift brought about the reproduction of status and power within determined strata population, as the properties over land and soil became fundamental for the determination of status and power over resources. This eventually resulted in classes: a) landowners, gentlemen b) people in authority and higher classes: these dominated the remaining population. This behavior further led to prejudice against specific class of persons including the landless and nomadic peoples which enhanced new social deviations resulting to more social structures. - What technologies were necessary for starting the early agriculture process?
Agriculture and particularly early agriculture thus came along with intense improvements and inventions of all those tools that are today indispensable in the agricultural process, like the plow or hoe, the sickle etc. Historical advancements in the construction of granaries and fermentation were some of the factors that contributed towards storage and preservation of foods for the entire year. A reason for this is that requirements for water as a resource, and pest control also imposed the concepts of irrigation, crop rotation and natural manure leading to the enhancement of Agricultural practices. - What can be done by contemporary agricultures based on the examples of the early agricultural societies?
Even as we seek to erect better and more reasonable systems for feeding the earth, we can gain knowledge about present-day agriculture from early societies. This in volves issues such as food sovereignty, support to small holder and artisanal farming, and fair access to land and other productive resources. Besides, solving the problems of Global environment through modern farming techniques like crop rotation, integrated pest management, using renewable energy sources in farming, thus making world farming system more sustainable, efficient leading to a more prosperous global society.
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