Tulip Digest 21 August 2024: Humanity's earliest agriculture
Starting with the collection of wild grains over 100,000 years ago and leading to the domestication of key staples like wheat, barley, and rice by 9500 BC. Over the ensuing millennia, humans across the globe domesticated a variety of animals, including sheep, wild boar (pigs), and cattle, while also cultivating important crops like potatoes, maize, and bananas.
Here is a top 10 of the earliest crops and animals domesticated
1. Wild Grains (collected, not domesticated): 105,000 BC (and possibly much earlier)
2. Wild Cereals (pre-domestication) 11,500 BC
3. Wild boar: 10,500 BC
4. Sheep: 10,000 BC
5. Aurochs: 8,500 BC
6. Wheat: 9,500 BC
7. Barley: 9,500 BC
8. Fig Trees: 9,400 BC
9. Rice: 8000 BC
10. Maize : 6,700 BC
This chronological overview highlights the ingenuity and adaptability of our ancestors as they developed agricultural practices that continue to shape our world today!