Transition from Foraging to Farming and the Significance of the Pull and Push Principles

Name:
Instructor:
Institution:
Date:
1) Why is prehistory even concerned with the transition from foraging to farming? Was it really a big deal? Is the discussion missing anything? [200 words – 3 points]
People are living histories. They speak languages that were inherited from the past and use technologies that they did not invent. As a result, having an understanding of what occurred in history helps people have an informed understanding of what is currently happening. Therefore, prehistory is concerned with the shift from foraging to farming because it seeks to understand why humans adopted farming, what was the nature of foraging, and how did farming impact the availability of food. Indeed, the transition from foraging to farming was a big deal. Farming increased the productivity of food plants and facilitated the privatization of resources, especially land. Furthermore, farming enabled people to have food available throughout the year. For instance, bread transformed from a special occasion food to a daily staple after farming was established. Importantly, the shift from foraging to farming led to the establishment of villages, the creation of pots to store grains, and invention of farming tools such as the wooden plough. Nevertheless, the discussion does not address whether the increase in crops’ productivity occurred naturally in the fields or through some form of breeding. If selective breeding was carried out, did the early farmers act on roots, stems, or leaves of vegetables?
2) Identify one scientific publication on the early agricultural practices (in a specific location) that this course did not mention. List it as a properly formatted citation (MLA style) and write a short summary of the main insight. [100 words – 2 points]
Bogaard, Amy. "‘Garden agriculture’and the nature of early farming in Europe and the Near East." World Archaeology 37.2 (2005): 177-196.
The article indicates that early farming practices in Central and East Europe varied depending on geographical factors. Geographical elements defined how each region engaged in crop and livestock farming and which species were preferred. For instance, Greeks preferred to keep sheep for meat rather than milk while the Turkish kept goats for meat. Due to these differences...