Plants and People

Plants and people

Human evolution

v  Australopithecus – 5 mya

v  Homo sapiens – 500,000 years ago in Africa, 250,000 years ago in Europe, 14,000 years ago in North America

v  Early humans were hunter-gatherers, scavengers

v  First used fire 1.4 mya

Advent of agriculture

v  Deliberate planting of seeds 18,000 years ago

v  Domestication of plants began 10,500 years ago in the Fertile Crescent

Lifestyle changes

v  Tools for cultivating, harvesting and processing appear

v  Humans become more sedentary

v  Pottery to store grain 8,000 years ago

v  Animals domesticated with plants

–  Dogs first animals domesticated

–  Cats 5,000 years ago in North Africa and Near East

–  Goat, horses, sheep, cattle, pigs, horses

Fertile crescent plant species

v  Barley

v  Wheat

v  Lentils

v  Chickpeas

v  Vetch

v  Olives

v  Dates

v  Pomegranates

v  Grapes

v  Flax

China

v  Millet

v  Rice

v  Soybeans

Tropical Asia

v  Mango

v  Citrus

v  Taro

v  Bananas

Africa

v  Sorghum

v  Millet

v  Okra

v  Yams

v  Cotton

v  Coffee

New world – Central and S. America

v  Pumpkins and squashes

v  Maize

v  Kidney beans

v  Lima beans

v  Peanuts

v  Cotton

v  Chili peppers

v  Tomatoes

v  Tobacco

v  Cacao

v  Pineapple

v  Avocados

Central Andes

v  Potatoes

v  Quinoa

v  Lupines

Other New World plants

v  Sunflower (Native Americans)

v  Manioc (drier S. America)

v  Sweet potato

New World animals

v  Mucovy duck

v  Turkeys

v  Guinea pigs

v  Llamas

v  Alpacas

Spices

v  Most important spices were cultivated in Tropical Asia

v  Cinnamon

v  Black pepper

v  Cloves

v  Cardamom

v  Ginger

v  Nutmeg

v  Mace

New World spices

v  Vanilla

v  Red peppers

v  Allspice

European herbs

v  Mint

v  Thyme

v  Basil

v  Oregano

v  Sage

v  Parsley

v  Dill

v  Caraway

v  Fennel

v  Coriander

v  Anise

Fourteen major crops

v  Wheat, rice, maize, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and manioc provide 80% of world food

v  Sugarcane, sugarbeet, common beans, soybeans, barley, sorghum, coconuts, bananas

Agriculture

v  Development of agriculture affected population growth

v  Occupations became more specialized and diversified

v  Humans current use (or waste) 40% of total net productivity on land

v  Green revolution

–  2.6-fold increase in grain production has been at expense of 25% of topsoil and 15% of land

Future of agriculture

v  Improve existing practices

–  Soil erosion

–  Irrigation

–  Pesticide use

v  Improve quality of existing crops

–  Hybrid maize increased maize production

–  Preserve genetic diversity

–  Look into wild crops/relatives

–  Genetic engineering

•  Pest resistance

•  Salt tolerance