We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing to browse this site you agree to our use of cookies. More info.
IntroductionAgriculture is what allowed humans to settled down into villages, support larger populations, which evolved into towns, then cities until the rise of the first civilisations. It did not happen out of the blue and did not emerged as a whole package. The process of domestication, be it for cereals, vegetables or animals, was lengthy, tedious, subject to trials and errors, and often required adaptations to the local climate and geography. It led to the invention of irrigation, the plough, the wheel, carts and chariots, and a number of other innovations to improve yield and transportation. The food we eat today is the result of over 10,000 years of agricultural evolution and of exchanges of crops and animals between people from various parts of the world. One of the most recent exchange of crops happened when Europeans reached the New World, introducing their crops (and animals) to the Americas, and bringing back with them tomatoes, avocadoes, potatoes, maize (corn), squash (pumpkins, courgettes), chili peppers, sunflowers, peanuts, pineapple and cacao, prompting a culinary revolution that is still underway today. Think about what northern European diet would be without potatoes (including chips/fries), what Mediterranean cuisine (not just Italian food) would be like without tomatoes and courgettes/zucchini, how many kinds of Indian curry there would be without tomatoes and chili peppers, or what Japanese futomaki would taste like without avocadoes. Not to mention a world without chocolate. Yet all these American crops are just the tip of the iceberg of agricultural history. What about other species? Where did all other commonly used herbs, spices, vegetables and fruits come from? That's what I will attempt to answer here with this list. Cereals
Herbs & Spices
Vegetables
Fruits
Animals
Follow-upDiscuss this topic on the Forum Find out other topics about Archeology & Prehistory. |