Theories of Agricultural Origins

Agriculture was developed more than 10,000 years ago and has undergone significant changes since the time of the earliest cultivation. Several theories also proposed by many scholars about the development of the agriculture.   Most probably, there was a quick change from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies after a period during that some of the crops had to be planted in order to carter the demands of the increasing societies or population. Some of the theories of agricultural origins of different scholars are mentioned below.

 In the year 1908, Raphael Pumpelly proposed Oasis Theory and Vere Gordon Childe popularized this theory by summarizing in his book entitled “Man Makes Himself”.  This theory explains that when the climate got drier, the societies contracted to the oases and they were into the close connection with the animals that were then domesticated along with cultivation.

In 1948, Robert Braidwood proposed the “Hilly Flanks hypothesis”.  He suggests that the agriculture started in the Zagros Mountains and hilly sides of the Taurus and that it developed from mainly focused grain collecting in the area.

Carl Sauer proposed the “Demographic theories” and this theory were adapted by Kent Flannery and Lewis Binford.  In this theory they describe than an more and more sedentary population developing up to the carrying ability of the local environment, and needed more food than could be collected. Several economic and social factors help drive the requirement for food.

Bryan Hayden created the Feasting models in which he suggest that the agriculture was driven by pretentious displays of power, like throwing feasts to the exert dominance. This needed assembling huge quantities of food that developed agricultural technology.

David Rindos prosed the ‘evolutionary and intentionality theory’ and suggests that the agriculture is the co-evolutionary adaptation of humans and plants. Beginning with domestication by protection of the wild plants, then specialization of the location and then the domestication

Questionnaire:

• Explain about the theories of Agricultural Origins proposed by several scholars.