Agricultural revolution pic 1

Agricultural Revolution

By bythebook
  • 10,000 BCE

    Hunting and Gathering

    Hunting and Gathering
    Long before the Agricultural Revolution, the main source of food came from the hunter-gathers. The hunters killed animals for their meat and fur. The gathers collected berries and nuts from different trees and bushes.
  • 3000 BCE

    Agrarian Movement (3000 BCE-1700 AD)

    Agrarian Movement (3000 BCE-1700 AD)
    Neolithic Era, Ancient Times and Medieval Times -It was during this long period of time that people began to grow food and keep animals on land where they lived. They no longer travelled from place to place looking for food. This was the beginning of agriculture. The first crops grown varied around the world, but are thought to have been wheat, barley, rice and lentils. The animals used in this time were sheep, goats, chickens and cattle.

  • Mechanization

    Mechanization
    As technology improved, the farmers made new tools, and the basic old tools were modified to perfection. Jethro Tull invented a Seed Drill, a cart that not only dug holes but also dropped crop seeds into them. This made it a lot easier to plant seeds. Then farmers could grow it on massive parts of the land, which meant they could grow more food.

  • Crop Rotation

    Crop Rotation
    Farmers soon realized that planting the same crop consecutive years in the same area was bad for the land. Different crops take different nutrients from the ground. When planting the same crop over and over in the same spot it doesn't give the soil enough time to replenish. Therefore the crop supply will get shorter and shorter.

  • Selective Breading

    Selective Breading
    Farmers soon realized the strengths and weaknesses of their animals. For example, if a cow had really bad knees they wouldn't use it to bread more cows. Farmers would rather have fewer strong cows than a bunch of cows that couldn't work to perfection. When having this knowledge they started breeding animals with different strengths, to make even better worker animals.

  • Manure as Fertilizer

    Manure as Fertilizer
    Farmers soon realized that manure helped their soil. Manure gives plants a source of nutrients, mainly nitrogen. This cycle was a very beneficial way to recycle nutrients in an agricultural system. The system ran off cows, which would keep producing the manure as long as they kept being fed.