Many might not acknowledge how much of an impact food has made in shaping the society in which we live. Another unknown detail is that the use of farming is very recent to our knowledge. Dating to about 11,000 years ago, farming has played a key role in the evolution of mankind. About 11,000 years ago humans started to cultivate food intentionally. This process of cultivating food is known as “farming” and it started taking hold in the Near Eastern part of the world at about 8,500 B.C. This is astonishing considering the first trace of man dates back to 150,000 years. Jump one thousand years into the future and China starts farming (7,500 B.C). Central and South America began on or about 3,500 B.C. From these 3 major locations the concept of farming was spread throughout the whole biosphere; thus making farming mankind’s chief means of food production. Wheat and rice, as we know it, are the most common cereal grains and have been used to feed millions across the world. Little do we know that wheat and rice have been genetically modified for our convenience. Like maize, wheat and rice have been modified to grow in larger quantities and to ripen at the same time. In the past, these cereal grains only grew to a certain stature and in enough quantities only to satisfy their biological needs to thrive and replicate, hence the grains we’re not as large in quantity as the ones we have today. As the genetic modification of these grains continued throughout recent years, these grains have grown more and more dependent on human intervention rather than on their own biology to survive. Without humans the current strains would die off. Many of the crops that are grown today did not all originate from the same place. Some might assume that the main cereal grains such as wheat, rice, and maize came from the Americas because so much of it is farmed there, however that is not the case. Wheat and barley were formed in the Near East, rice and millet in Asia, and maize in what is today known as Latin America. Since food is a major factor in the evolution of mankind; many religions have incorporated food into their many tales and myths.
…show more content…
For example, one myth told by the Mayans in their sacred book, the Popol Vuh, tells about the creation of mankind through their God’s many attempts at creating the human that best fit their needs. The story tells how mankind was first made from mud, but this didn’t work because man could hardly see, hear or walk and were soon washed away. The Mayan gods then made other beings out of wood and these beings were successful for operating but they lacked blood and souls, so they were destroyed. Finally, after much discussion and deliberation, the gods decided to take advantage of the ingredients they had and they added maize to the mixture and made the third generation of humans out of white and yellow ears of maize. The Mayans believed that they descended from this third generation of men and that their wives were created shortly afterwards. Chapter 2: The Roots of Modernity Although farming might seem to be to have been one of the best decisions mankind has ever made, one anthropologist deems farming as “the worst mistake in the history of the human race”. Many natives will agree that they have shunned the idea of agriculture as it does not benefit them like hunting those. According to studies done by modern anthropologist, gathering food by hunting only accounted for a …show more content…
In some communities the Big Man wins control over surplus food, which gains him many followers, but his role is to give to people and then they give back in bigger quantities. If this big man fails to do give or decided to keep his followers either leave to another clan or murder him. Another type of Big Man can be found in Melanesia which can have multiple wives at once for a variety of purposes which all add up to the collection of resources. He then carefully gives out those resources which the wives have collected to other communities making them in debt to the Big Man, which leads them to return more
For example, one myth told by the Mayans in their sacred book, the Popol Vuh, tells about the creation of mankind through their God’s many attempts at creating the human that best fit their needs. The story tells how mankind was first made from mud, but this didn’t work because man could hardly see, hear or walk and were soon washed away. The Mayan gods then made other beings out of wood and these beings were successful for operating but they lacked blood and souls, so they were destroyed. Finally, after much discussion and deliberation, the gods decided to take advantage of the ingredients they had and they added maize to the mixture and made the third generation of humans out of white and yellow ears of maize. The Mayans believed that they descended from this third generation of men and that their wives were created shortly afterwards. Chapter 2: The Roots of Modernity Although farming might seem to be to have been one of the best decisions mankind has ever made, one anthropologist deems farming as “the worst mistake in the history of the human race”. Many natives will agree that they have shunned the idea of agriculture as it does not benefit them like hunting those. According to studies done by modern anthropologist, gathering food by hunting only accounted for a …show more content…
In some communities the Big Man wins control over surplus food, which gains him many followers, but his role is to give to people and then they give back in bigger quantities. If this big man fails to do give or decided to keep his followers either leave to another clan or murder him. Another type of Big Man can be found in Melanesia which can have multiple wives at once for a variety of purposes which all add up to the collection of resources. He then carefully gives out those resources which the wives have collected to other communities making them in debt to the Big Man, which leads them to return more