Chapter 7 How to Make an Almond

Fleshy Fruits In nature, fruits are often fleshy to attract animals the seeds of fruit are often bitter and are dispersed (and fertilized) by passing through the animal. Domestication of plants by humans also may have started in such latrines.

Selection of Desired Qualities Eventually humans selected desired qualities: –Size –lack of bitterness – fleshiness –Oiliness –fiber length in plants.

Traits Selected Unknowingly Dispersal mutations (peas that stayed in the pods, wheat that did not shatter) Early germination of planted seeds -- those that did not readily germinate were not selected for replanting (examples wheat, barley, peas) Reproductive biology to be selfing (plums, peaches apricots, cherries, grapes) Seed size: competition among planted seeds selects for qualities like seed size differently than in nature.

Difficulty of Domestication Wheat and peas easy to domesticate in Fertile Crescent (8,500 B.C.) –grew wild –annual –easily stored

Difficulty of Domestication Fruit and nut trees harder to domesticate(4,000 B.C.) –long growing season. Fruit trees that needed grafting took even longer

Pulses Cereals are low in protein, but the deficit is made up by pulses (beans, peas, lentils) in most food systems.

Sowing by Broadcast Grains in Eurasia were sown by broadcast, later in animal plowed fields to give monoculture.

Digging Sticks In new world, planting done by digging stick, (no plow animals domesticated), leading to mixed gardens.

Almonds and Oaks Almonds more easily domesticated: –faster growing –Only one gene for bitterness of seed. Oaks never domesticated: –slow growth –fast squirrels replant acorns –multiple genes controlling bitterness.

Chapter 8 Apples or Indians

Domesticated Plants There are 200,000 species of plants Only a dozen plants account for 80% of worlds production

80% of World’s Production: Wheat Maize Rice Barley Sorghum Soybean Potato Cassava Sweet potato Sugar cane Sugar beet Banana

Major Domesticated Crops No new plants domesticated in modern times All of these domesticated thousands of years ago.

Domestication Requirements Several domesticable plants had large ranges, but domesticated only in one place. Why not in others? Domestication required settling down, and had to be worth it with several plants domesticated, not just one.

Fertile Crescent

Fertile Crescent Attributes Mediterranean climate. Abundant wild stands of wheat that needed little change to be domesticated. Hunter/gatherers settled down here before agriculture, living off grain High percentage of self pollinating plants -- easiest to domesticate.

Fertile Crescent Advantages Largest Mediterranean climate with highest diversity of species. High percentage of annual plants. Annuals produce seeds that dry down until rainy season. Of large seeded grass species of the world, 32 of 56 grow here.

Fertile Crescent Advantages Diversity of terrain and habitats: diversity of species to be domesticated. Big animals for domestication: goat, sheep, pig, cow.

Fertile Crescent Domestication Agriculture launched by domestication of 8 crops (founder crops): emmer wheat, einkorn wheat, barley, lentil, pea, chickpea, bitter vetch, flax. Wheat and pulses gave balanced carbohydrate and protein.

Fertile Crescent Domestication Hunter gathering eventually not too productive, easily giving way to agriculture. Domestication occurred from 9,000 B.C. to 6,000 B.C.

Meso America In Meso America, the only animals domesticated were turkey and dog Maize was slow to domesticate. Domestication occurred from 3,500 B.C. to 1,500 B.C.

Independent Domestication In New Guinea or USA, food also independently domesticated, but limited crops. Indigenous peoples usually walking encyclopedias about wild foods.

Independent Domestication Was it culture that rejected domesticated crops? Unlikely since imported crops readily adapted and then populations took off.

Independent Domestication Problem was in the plants available for domestication. Poor candidates for grain domestication No large animal domestication, Crops domesticated had limited calories and protein.

New Guinea New Guinea crop was Taro: Low in protein, leading to eating of –Spiders –Frogs –Mice –Cannibalism

USA USA crops were squash, sunflower, sumpweed and goosefoot. Not enough of a crop package to sustain large populations without hunting and gathering, until Maize imported 2000 years later. Therefore it was the lack of an entire suite of animal and plants available for domestication that was responsible for the late start of food production in N. America.

Chapter 9 Zebras, etc

Big 5 Domesticated Animals Horse Cow Pig Sheep Goat All from Eurasia

Domesticated Animals Of the 14 large (over 100 lb) successful domesticated animal species in the world –13 are from Eurasia, –one from South America. Why the huge disparity? Why did Africa have none?

Large Animals Of 148 large herbivorous or omnivorous species in the world – Eurasia had 72 – Africa 51 – Americas 24 – Australia 1

Not a Cultural Issue When the big 5 Eurasian domesticates were introduced into Africa and the Americas they were readily adopted. All peoples have experience taming wild animals, keeping pets. But not all tamed animals can become domesticated.

Not a Cultural Issue All major animal domestication occurred between 8,500-2,500 B.C. with almost none since then. Those of the 148 possible species capable of being domesticated were domesticated.

Why have 134 out of 148 big species not been domesticated? Diet too finicky (ex: koala) Growth rate too slow (ex: elephants, gorillas) Captive Breeding. Some animals have elaborate mating rituals that they won't do in captivity (ex: cheetah, vicuna)

Why have 134 out of 148 big species not been domesticated? Nasty Disposition. (ex: grizzly bear, African buffalo, onager, zebra, hippo, elk) Tendency to panic. (ex: deer, antelope, gazelles).

Why have 134 out of 148 big species not been domesticated? Social structure. –Need animals that live in herds with hierarchy and have overlapping ranges –Humans can then take over dominance position. – Solitary animals hard to domesticate (only cats and ferrets have been).

Why have 134 out of 148 big species not been domesticated? Territorial animals hard to pen up with others (ex: Africa antelope, rhino). Animals without dominance structure are hard to herd (ex: deer, antelope.

Chapter 10 Spacious Skies and Tilted Axes

Easier to spread East-West It was easier for domestic plants and animals (later, technology like wheels, writing) to spread East-West in Eurasia than North- South in Americas.

Evidence Some crops domesticated independently in both S. America and Meso America due to slow spread –lima beans – common beans – chili peppers

Evidence Most crops in Eurasia domesticated only once. Rapid spread preempted same or similar domestication. Fertile Crescent crops spread to Egypt, N. Africa, Europe, India and eventually to China.

Africa East-West spread of plants, animals easier due to same day- length, similar seasonal variations. By contrast, spread of these crops stopped past Sahara due to tropical climate, and thus didn't reach temperate S. Africa until colonists came. Tropical crops spread West to East in Africa with Bantu culture, but did not cross to S. Africa due to climate.

Americas Distance between cool highlands of Mexico and Andes was only 1,200 miles but separated by low hot tropical region. Thus, no exchange of crops, animals, writing, wheel. –Only maize spread.

Americas It took 2,000 years for maize to cross 700 miles of desert to reach U.S.A. It took another 1000 years for maize to adapt to U.S.A. climate to be productive

Amber Waves of Grain Geographic barriers like mountains and deserts can also slow spread of crops East-West –agriculture spread from U.S.A. southeast to southwest slowed by dry Texas and southern great plains Amber waves of grain did not stretch from sea to sea in N. America, but did in Eurasia.

Not a Cultural Issue Some species like cows, dogs, pigs independently domesticated in different parts of the world. These animals were well suited for domestication. Modern attempts to domesticate eland, elk, moose, musk ox, zebra, American Bison are only marginally successful.