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Domestication is the process of adapting wild plants and animals for human use. Domestic species are raised for food, work, clothing, medicine, and many other uses. Domesticated plants and animals must be raised and cared for by humans. Domesticated species are not wild.
Plant Domestication
People first domesticated plants about 10,000 years ago, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia (which includes the modern countries of Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria). People collected and planted the seeds of wild plants. They made sure the plants had as much water as they needed to grow, and planted them in areas with the right amount of sun. Weeks or months later, when the plants blossomed, people harvested the food crops.
The first domesticated plants in Mesopotamia were wheat (Triticum aestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), lentils (Lens culinaris or Lens esculenta), and types of peas. People in other parts of the world, including eastern Asia, parts of Africa, and parts of North and South America, also domesticated plants. Other plants that were cultivated by early civilizations included rice (Oryza sativa in Asia) and potatoes (Solanum tuberosum in South America).
Plants have not only been domesticated for food. Cotton plants were domesticated for fiber, which is used in cloth. Some flowers, such as tulips, were domesticated for ornamental, or decorative, reasons.
Agriculture—the cultivating of domestic plants—allowed fewer people to provide food for the community. The stability that came with regular, predictable food production led to increased population density. The world's first villages and cities were built near flooplains where fields of domesticated plants could be grown more easily.
Plant domestication also led to advances in tool production. The earliest farming tools were hand tools made from stone. People later developed metal farming tools, and eventually used plows pulled by domesticated animals to work fields.
( https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/domestication/ )
Teaching a Grade 3 unit on the invention of agriculture in the Near East can be engaging and educational through hands-on activities. Here are five interactive activities to help students understand this historical topic:
Grain Grinding: Provide students with grains like wheat or barley and grinding tools like stones or mortars. Allow them to experience the process of grinding grains into flour, just as early farmers did. Discuss how this was a significant advancement in agriculture that led to the production of food.
Plant a Mini Farm: Create a small garden or use pots to grow common ancient Near East crops like wheat, barley, lentils, or flax. Have students plant and care for these crops throughout the unit, learning about the importance of soil, water, and sunlight in farming.
Build a Model Irrigation System: Explain the concept of irrigation in ancient agriculture. Provide materials for students to build a simple model irrigation system using containers, hoses, and small-scale crops. This hands-on activity can illustrate how controlled water supply improved farming.
Archaeological Dig: Set up a mock archaeological dig in your classroom or schoolyard. Hide "artifacts" like pottery shards, ancient tools, and plant remains. Let students become archaeologists for a day, excavating and analyzing these items to piece together the history of early agriculture.
Ancient Grain Taste Test: Introduce students to different ancient grains like spelt, emmer, and einkorn. Cook them and have a taste test, discussing the nutritional value and taste compared to modern grains. This activity can help students appreciate the variety of crops cultivated by early farmers.
These hands-on activities not only make learning fun but also help students grasp the fundamental concepts of agriculture's invention in the Near East, fostering a deeper understanding of this pivotal moment in human history.
Archaeobotanical studies indicate three species of wheat existed in the distant past. These are Triticum sphaerococcum, Triticum vulgare and Triticum compactum. The first two hexaploid species are still cultivated in modern times, mostly in Northern India.[10]
The diploid species einkorn and tetraploid species emmer are early wheat species. Evidence for them dates to the Bus Mordeh phase (7500 BC to 6500 BC) recovered from excavation at Ali Kosh in Iran and somewhat later evidence from Nea Nikomedeia. Triticum durum Desf may once have been cultivated in Ancient Egypt.[10]
Some grains found in India are:[10]
Triticum sphaerococcum - also called "Indian Short Wheat", this is the earliest known cultivated wheat from India with evidence from the Chalcolithic site Harappa and the later site Ter
Triticum vulgare - also called "Bread wheat" evidence has been found at Chanhudaro, Mohenjodaro and Navdatolo
Triticum compactum - found at Harappa, Mundigak and Mohenjodaro
Triticum Sp. - found at Navdaroli, Inamgaon, Atranjikhera and Kayatha
Triticum Sp. Contd. - found at Songaon, Rohtak, Nevasa and Bhokardan
Along with wheat, barley (Hordeum) is one of the earliest cultivated crops. It was commonly cultivated throughout the Near East and Southern Europe in its hulled form, and the domesticated two row species may have originated at Beidha, Jarmo, or Ali Kosh. Hordeum spontaneum was found at Çatalhöyük (5850 BCE - 5600 BCE) and Hordeum distichum at Ali Kosh (6750 BCE - 6000 BCE). In India it was mostly cultivated in the north and central regions, extending only as far south as Inamgaon and Nevasa.[10]
Rice is believed to have been cultivated at Non Nok Tha in Thailand since 3500 BC where impressions of grains of rice have been found on potsherds. Other cultivation sites include the Neolithic sites of Yang-Shao Ts'uan, Liu Tzuchen, Anhui, Kionsi, Chekiang and Hupei.[10]
Wild rice[edit]
Not directly related to domesticated rice, wild rice has nearly twice the dietary fibre of Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima and contains around 15% protein and lipids including essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.[14] The Anishinaabe are thought to have harvested wild rice in prehistoric North America, according to archaeologists studying the clay linings of thermal features and jigging pits associated with parching and threshing of the plant.[15]
The origin of finger millet (also called ragi) is debated with various proposals placing it at Abyssinia, Africa or India. Charred grains of cultivated and wild ragi have been found at the Neolithic site Hallur in southern India. Wild ragi (eleusine indica Gaertn) is known only from Songaon and Bhokardan, while the cultivated form appears at Paiyampalli in Tamilnadu, Songaon and later at Bhokardan and Nevasa in Maharashtra.[10]
Cultivation of pearl millet is known from sites with semi-arid climate, occurring at Hallur, Rangpur and Nevasa. Cultivation of pearl millet in modern India (where it is also called bajra) is mostly limited to the country's semi-arid regions. In Africa evidence has been found dating to the Naghez phase, but it is not known whether these were cultivated. Both wild and cultivated grain impressions were found at Le Baidla I.[10]
Charred grains of Paspalum scrobiculatum (Kodo millet), dating to the Satavahana period, have been found at Nevasa. Sorghum vulgare is known from semi-arid parts of Rajasthan and Maharashtra like Inamgaon, Paunar and Ahar.[10]
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