History of Agriculture

By mossycow318
  • 10,000 BCE

    Neolithic Revolution

    Neolithic Revolution
    Beginning about 12,000 years ago, the Neolithic Revolution—also referred to as the Agricultural Revolution—was a time of profound change in human history as people moved from a hunter-gatherer way of life to one centered on agriculture and settled communities.
  • 8000 BCE

    Selective breeding of crops and animals

    Selective breeding of crops and animals
    Selective breeding, the process of humans selecting plants/animals with desirable traits to breed, has been practiced since the dawn of agriculture, roughly 10,000 years ago.
  • 3000 BCE

    Scratch Plows

    Scratch Plows
    The scratch plow allowed a domesticated animal to pull a sharp stick through the ground, creating a gap into which seeds could be placed.
  • 300 BCE

    Horse Collar

    Horse Collar
    The invention of the horse collar allowed a horse to pull harder without choking itself. While the horse collar was invented in 300BC in China, it was not used in western Europe until slightly over 1000 years ago.
  • Period: 800 to 1300

    Arab agricultural revolution

    The Arab Agricultural Revolution, was a period of significant advancements and transformations in agriculture during the Islamic Golden Age. This revolution, spearheaded by Muslim farmers, merchants, and rulers, involved the widespread introduction of new crops and agricultural practices, particularly westward into Europe and Africa.
  • 900

    Improved Plows

    Improved Plows
    Plows were developed that included an iron knife-like blade that could cut the roots that were found in more humid climates such as western Europe.
  • 1492

    Introduction of crops

    Introduction of crops
    After 1492, a global exchange of previously local crops and livestock breeds occurred. Triggered by the voyages of Columbus, this connected the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, leading to the transfer of crops between Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

  • Industrialization

    Industrialization
    Inventors and farmers were quick to see the usefulness of many technological advances made during the Industrial Revolution.

  • Increased emphasis on cash-crop farming

    Increased emphasis on cash-crop farming
    Increased emphasis on cash crop farming wasn't a single event but a gradual process that began in the 19th century and continues to this day.
  • Period: to

    North American grasslands

    The opening of the grasslands of North America for farming. This broad swath of land from the Gulf of Mexico to central Alberta has become one of the most important sources of food in the world. ,

  • Invention of modern Fertilizer

    Invention of modern Fertilizer
    The invention of modern, artificial fertilizer began in the mid-19th century with the work of John Bennet Lawes in England. In 1842, he patented a process for creating artificial fertilizer by treating phosphates with sulfuric acid, which resulted in the first commercial fertilizer.
  • Period: to

    Green Revolution

    The Green Revolution was the introduction of Western-style agricultural ideas to the developing world.
    .
  • Period: to

    Last major agricultural expansion

    The world's last major agricultural expansion was the Virgin Lands scheme in the Soviet Union.

  • Increased corporate ownership of farms

    Increased corporate ownership of farms
    The increase in corporate ownership of farms is a gradual trend that accelerated in the 1970s in the United States. In Canada, this trend is also evident, with an increase in farm operations being incorporated.

  • GMOs

    GMOs
    Described as a "second Green Revolution." This is the creation in laboratories of genetically modified organisms that have particular desirable features.