Agriculture And The Society; How It All Began.

 

The first set of people in ancient history were hunters and gatherers. They moved from one forest to the other in search of food for survival, hunting down animals to roast for food and plugging fruits and veggies from trees to feed.

    Man has always been sensitive to his environment and things that happen around him. As time passed, man began to notice that the seeds of the fruits he ate and dropped as he moved, germinated and grew. There took roots in the soil and formed as trees that would eventually grow seeds. This discovery got man excited and aroused his interest in plant cultivation. They began to intentionally drop seeds on the soil and watch it grow and this practice evolved to burying seeds for proper planting. The resultant effect was harvest of the same seed of which was planted. Some of the wild animals captured around human settlements, were not immediately killed for food but kept to breed in captivity where they became tamed, ultimately ensuring regular meat supply.

Man realized he could rear animals and plant his own food crops to reap a multiplied harvest in due time rather than wander about in uncertainty. Domestication of animals and cultivation of food began for mankind.

The origin of agriculture began in Southeast Asia generally  referred to as the "fertile crescent" in parts of northern Iraq, northern Iran and Syria area. Some of the hunting and gathering peoples of the time began using for food, the grains of certain wild grasses, which after suitable preparation were found to be good to eat (Ajayi and Espie,1965:30). Later some of the grass seeds were kept and later planted near their dwelling places which also produced the same type of grains as the ones they had earlier consumed. In this way, the domestication of cereals began.

This happened during the Neolithic period, also known as the new stone age, characterized by the use of ground toolsand polished stones for hunting and gathering, also for farming.

 The first domesticated animal is said to have been the sheep, followed by the goat and pig and then cattle. The dog is believed to have come later, probably for food rather than a hunting companion (Ajayi & Espie, 1965:30)

As Man's society evolved, so did his culture and lifestyle. The change from dependence on hunting, fishing and gathering the fruits of the wild, to crop-raising and stock_keeping was a revolutionary step which changed Man's way of life and advanced his capacity for controlling his environment.

This made possible, the settlements of large groups of people in the same spot permanently, resulting to the earliest villages of man. It also made possible, the division of labour arising from varying needs of man, and specialization in different occupations. The surplus accumulation of goods brought wealth, and the assured food supply led to great increase in population. (Shaw 1971:58)

Continous change in the society brought new inventions and the evolving of villages into towns and cities.