Download Test 3 Survival Development of Agriculture We were first

Test 3 Survival
Development of Agriculture
We were first- Hunter Gatherers
Hunter gatherers- a member of a nomadic people who live chiefly by hunting, fishing, and harvesting wild
food.
-Evolution: paleo indian period- depended on large animals, archaic period- small animals and plants,
Maya- Agriculture.
- Why did they change to agriculture? Because of severe climatic changes, adopt to the environment,
began to develop a sedentary life so population grew
- Agriculture- The practice of cultivating and farming animals, food and other life forms that are used to
sustain life.
How did agriculture begin? 1. through accident, 2. Trial and error, 3. Experimentation
When did agriculture begin? During the archaic period, it was the backbone of civilization
How did agriculture impact life?
Because of agriculture they began to develop a sedentary life which lead to population growth and more
people required more food so they had to perform more intensive agriculture.
This is how Maya life evolved! Hunting- deer, tapir, birds, rabbits, monkey to Animal husbandry- dogs,
turkeys, Muscovy ducks, doves to Agriculture- maize, beans, squash, cacao, chilli (arboriculture was also
practiced; cultivation of trees: ramon-bread nut, cacao).
Agriculture in the highlands
-features of the highlands- has a lot of valleys, cool and drier, low rain fall
-Terracing- a piece of sloped plane that has been cut into a series of successively receding flat surfaces,
which resemble steps, for the purposes of more effective farming.
- What are the benefits of terracing? 1. Create farms out of steep hills, 2. Decrease soil erosion, 3.
Decrease in surface runoff 4. Provides very good irrigation.
- Chinampa- Small artificial island built on a freshwater lake for agricultural purposes.
-benefits of chinampas- The lake provides the chinampa with moisture laden with decomposing organic
wastes that irrigate and fertilize the island's soil and supports ahighly productive form of cultivation.
Agriculture in the Lowlands
Features- more rainfall, cenotes are found, more rivers, tropical and subtropical climate
Raised fields are large artificial platforms of soil created to protect crops from flooding.
How were raised fields built? 1. Essentially big piles of dirt, 2. Created by digging into the top soil and
raising a large, low platform, 3. They placed mud bricks to create walls, 4. Planted trees on the sides as
walls
Benefits of raised fields: 1. The organic-rich soils in the old canals was very fertile 2. The area was very
wet but stable.
Slash and burn- involves cutting and burning of trees and plants in forests to create fields, Cutting is the
slash part, Placing fire to it is the burn part.
Benefits- slash and burn was quite easy, Ashes made the soil rich in nutrients
Maya trade
Why trade started?
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They had surplus production of goods
Interaction within cities lead to competition (started a market system)
People demanded for goods from different regions
When it began? During the pre-classic period
What were the commodities traded? At the beginning trade was for food only!
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In the middle-preclassic luxury trade began
There was short distance trade and long distance trade
How they traded:
Barter is a system of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged without using a medium
of exchange, such as money.
Disadvantages of barter: Double coincidence of wants, Lack of common unit of value, Lack of storage of
value, Value is cumbersome (heavy)
Cacao seeds were used as currency.
What was traded: salt, obsidian, copper, jade, granite, melon seeds, quetzal feathers, axe heads, shells