Final Test

The discovery of agriculture

9500 BCE

Humans started planting seeds of crops and domesticating animals. This allowed humans to start living in large groups creating civilizations.

Crop Rotation

8000 BCE

Crop rotation was the process of “rotating” different crops in fields every year. This allowed the nutrients to return to the soil and allowed yields to greatly increase. Crop rotation is still used today.

The development of field irrigation

6000 BCE

The development of field irrigation allowed for regular crop production. It supplied soil with moisture when the weather was insufficient.

The Start of Civilizations

4000 BCE

Civilizations started to begin around 4000 BCE due to the start of agriculture. Before agriculture, people were not able to survive in large groups because they weren’t able to provide enough food for them. With the start of agriculture is allowed large groups of people to gather.

The Great Pyramid

2490 BCE

The Great Pyramid would have not been possible without the help of the Nile River and agriculture. The Nile River helped produce large harvests that kept the worker and the animals with enough energy and calories to make the Great Pyramid.

The Dark Age

1100 BCE

The Dark Age was a time period of no travel or trade. Agriculture was barely existent due to wars. Many wars destroyed fields and many farmers couldn't work in the fields because they were fighting. This caused a decline in the population.

Innovations to the plow (Carruca)

600

The plow was updated to use a new kind of collar for animals that rested on the shoulders of them, not on their necks. This allowed heavier loads and heavier plows.

Three-field crop rotation

1000

Farmers started linking together three fields, one field having wheat, the other legumes, and the other was left fallow. Using a three-field crop rotation helped enhance the soil by bringing back nutrients into the field.

Improvements in Peasant’s lives

1200

With the improvements in agriculture peasants were able to do good for themselves. Peasants would often bargain with their lords for cash rent or have more traditional rights than in the past.

The Columbian Exchange

1492

The Columbian Exchange was the exchange of goods between the Old World and the New World. From this exchange the Old World learned about new agricultural products like corn, potatoes, and tomatoes. The New World learned about domesticating animals like horses, cows, and sheep.

The Little Ice Age

1600

The Little Ice Age was a period of drastic temperature change. With the lower temperatures there was less crop yields, more crop failure, and more frequent famines. The price of grain increased by 630% during this period.

The Irish Potato Famine

1845

Potatoes were brought over from the New World and were a very important food for Ireland when they faced a famine in 1845. Potatoes were easy to grow and had lots of nutritional value.

Test Question

2022

All of these events show continuity and change over time in agriculture. Agriculture is a big part of our world today, especially where we live. Agriculture allowed for people to live in civilizations and build artifacts like The Great Pyramid. In the years of bad yield, statistics showed how much it affected everybody. Today, agriculture is continually changing to improve, but without the improvements made during western civilization we would be nowhere.

Test Question

2022

All of these events show continuity and change over time in agriculture. Agriculture is a big part of our world today, especially where we live. Agriculture allowed for people to live in civilizations and build artifacts like The Great Pyramid. In the years of bad yield, statistics showed how much it affected everybody. Today, agriculture is continually changing to improve, but without the improvements made during western civilization we would be nowhere.