Sedentism and Farming
It is often automatically assumed that farming is clearly superior to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, but recent research has shown that farmers generally had to work much longer and harder to produce a less varied and less nutritious diet, and they were far more prone to disease. Given these drawbacks, why was farming adopted in so many parts of the world?
One of the most important factors appears to have been climate change. Studies of the ancient climate, based on the analysis of ice cores, deep-sea cores, and pollen profiles, have found that between 18,000 B.C. and 9500 B.C. the climate was cold, dry, and highly variable, so any attempt to cultivate or domesticate plants would have failed. Intriguingly there is evidence of at least one such attempt, at a site called Abu Hureyra in northern Syria. Around 10,700 B.C. the inhabitants of this site seem to have begun to domesticate rye. But their attempt fell victim to a sudden cold phase known as the Younger Dryas, which began around 10,700 B.C. and lasted for around 1,200 years. Then, around 9500 B.C., the climate suddenly became warmer, wetter, and more stable. This provided a necessary but not sufficient condition for agriculture. After all, if the newly stable climate was the only factor that prompted the adoption of farming, then people would have adopted it simultaneously all around the world. So there must have been other forces at work as well.
One such factor was greater sedentism(remaining in one place), as hunter-gatherers in some parts of the world became less mobile and began to spend most of the year at a single camp, or even took up permanent residence. There are many examples of sedentary village communities that predate the adoption of farming, such as those of the Natufian culture of the Near East, which flourished in the millennium before the Younger Dryas, and others on the north coast of Peru and in North America’s Pacific Northwest. In each case these settlements were made possible by abundant local wild food, often in the form of fish or shellfish. Normally, hunter-gatherers move their camps to prevent the food supply in a particular area from being depleted, or to take advantage of the seasonal availability of different foods. But there is no need to move around if you settle next to a river and the food comes to you. Improvements in food-gathering techniques in the late Stone Age, such as better arrows, nets, and fish hooks, may also have promoted sedentism. Once a hunter-gatherer band could extract more food (such as fish, small rodents, or shellfish)from its surroundings, it did not need to move around so much.
Sedentism does not always lead to farming, and some settled hunter-gatherer groups survived into modern times without ever adopting agriculture. But sedentism does make the switch to farming more likely. Settled hunter-gatherers who gather wild grains might be inclined to start planting a few seeds in order to maintain the supply. Planting might also have provided a form of insurance against variations in the supply of other foods. And since grains are processed using grinding stones that are inconvenient for hunter-gatherers to carry from one camp to another, greater sedentism would have made grains a more attractive foodstuff. The fact that grains are energy rich and could be dried and stored for long periods also counted in their favor. They were not a terribly exciting foodstuff, but they could be relied upon in extreme circumstances.
It is not hard to imagine how sedentary hunter-gatherers might have started to rely more heavily on cereal grains as part of their diet. What was initially a relatively unimportant food gradually became more important, for the simple reason that protofarmers (people who adopted practices such as weeding and irrigation to help food plants to grow)could ensure its presence(by planting and subsequent storage)in ways they could not for other foods. Archaeological evidence from the Near East suggests that protofarmers initially cultivated whatever wild cereals were at hand, such as einkorn wheat. But as they became more reliant on cereals they switched to more productive crops, such as emmer wheat, which produced more food for a given amount of labor.
1
It is often automatically assumed that farming is clearly superior to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, but recent research has shown that farmers generally had to work much longer and harder to produce a less varied and less nutritious diet, and they were far more prone to disease. Given these drawbacks, why was farming adopted in so many parts of the world?
Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
ARecent research has shown that although early farmers generally had to work long and hard to produce the food they needed, they were prone to disease.
BRecent research has shown that certain common assumptions about the superiority of farming as compared with the hunter-gatherer lifestyle are indeed true.
CThe idea that farming is both easier and healthier than the hunter-gatherer lifestyle is often taken for granted.
DContrary to common assumption, farmers tended work harder for their food, have a worse diet, and be less healthy than hunter-gatherers.
2
One of the most important factors appears to have been climate change. Studies of the ancient climate, based on the analysis of ice cores, deep-sea cores, and pollen profiles, have found that between 18,000 B.C. and 9500 B.C. the climate was cold, dry, and highly variable, so any attempt to cultivate or domesticate plants would have failed. Intriguingly there is evidence of at least one such attempt, at a site called Abu Hureyra in northern Syria. Around 10,700 B.C. the inhabitants of this site seem to have begun to domesticate rye. But their attempt fell victim to a sudden cold phase known as the Younger Dryas, which began around 10,700 B.C. and lasted for around 1,200 years. Then, around 9500 B.C., the climate suddenly became warmer, wetter, and more stable. This provided a necessary but not sufficient condition for agriculture. After all, if the newly stable climate was the only factor that prompted the adoption of farming, then people would have adopted it simultaneously all around the world. So there must have been other forces at work as well.
Why does the author discuss the “site called Abu Hureyra in northern Syria”?
ATo reinforce the point that the climate made it impossible to cultivate or domesticate plants successfully before about 9500 B.C.
BTo illustrate how much can be learned about ancient climates from the analysis of ice cores, deep-sea cores, and pollen profile
CTo show that farming began in some places over a thousand years earlier than has been generally recognized
DTo demonstrate that rye was unsuitable for domestication
3
One of the most important factors appears to have been climate change. Studies of the ancient climate, based on the analysis of ice cores, deep-sea cores, and pollen profiles, have found that between 18,000 B.C. and 9500 B.C. the climate was cold, dry, and highly variable, so any attempt to cultivate or domesticate plants would have failed. Intriguingly there is evidence of at least one such attempt, at a site called Abu Hureyra in northern Syria. Around 10,700 B.C. the inhabitants of this site seem to have begun to domesticate rye. But their attempt fell victim to a sudden cold phase known as the Younger Dryas, which began around 10,700 B.C. and lasted for around 1,200 years. Then, around 9500 B.C., the climate suddenly became warmer, wetter, and more stable. This provided a necessary but not sufficient condition for agriculture. After all, if the newly stable climate was the only factor that prompted the adoption of farming, then people would have adopted it simultaneously all around the world. So there must have been other forces at work as well.
The word “simultaneously” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Aautomatically
Bat the same time
Cwith ease
Drapidly
4
One such factor was greater sedentism(remaining in one place), as hunter-gatherers in some parts of the world became less mobile and began to spend most of the year at a single camp, or even took up permanent residence. There are many examples of sedentary village communities that predate the adoption of farming, such as those of the Natufian culture of the Near East, which flourished in the millennium before the Younger Dryas, and others on the north coast of Peru and in North America’s Pacific Northwest. In each case these settlements were made possible by abundant local wild food, often in the form of fish or shellfish. Normally, hunter-gatherers move their camps to prevent the food supply in a particular area from being depleted, or to take advantage of the seasonal availability of different foods. But there is no need to move around if you settle next to a river and the food comes to you. Improvements in food-gathering techniques in the late Stone Age, such as better arrows, nets, and fish hooks, may also have promoted sedentism. Once a hunter-gatherer band could extract more food (such as fish, small rodents, or shellfish)from its surroundings, it did not need to move around so much.
Paragraph 3 suggests that the earliest sedentary communities
Ahad already adopted farming
Bdid not have abundant sources of wild food
Ctended to give up hunting
Dtended to form near large bodies of water
5
One such factor was greater sedentism(remaining in one place), as hunter-gatherers in some parts of the world became less mobile and began to spend most of the year at a single camp, or even took up permanent residence. There are many examples of sedentary village communities that predate the adoption of farming, such as those of the Natufian culture of the Near East, which flourished in the millennium before the Younger Dryas, and others on the north coast of Peru and in North America’s Pacific Northwest. In each case these settlements were made possible by abundant local wild food, often in the form of fish or shellfish. Normally, hunter-gatherers move their camps to prevent the food supply in a particular area from being depleted, or to take advantage of the seasonal availability of different foods. But there is no need to move around if you settle next to a river and the food comes to you. Improvements in food-gathering techniques in the late Stone Age, such as better arrows, nets, and fish hooks, may also have promoted sedentism. Once a hunter-gatherer band could extract more food (such as fish, small rodents, or shellfish)from its surroundings, it did not need to move around so much.
In paragraph 3, the Natufian culture and cultures on the north coast of Peru and in North America’s Pacific Northwest are all presented as examples of communities that
Aflourished as farmers in the period before the Younger Dryas
Bmoved their camps to take advantage of seasonal food supplies
Cadopted farming immediately after they became sedentary
Dwere hunter-gatherers who spent most or all of the year in one place
6
One such factor was greater sedentism(remaining in one place), as hunter-gatherers in some parts of the world became less mobile and began to spend most of the year at a single camp, or even took up permanent residence. There are many examples of sedentary village communities that predate the adoption of farming, such as those of the Natufian culture of the Near East, which flourished in the millennium before the Younger Dryas, and others on the north coast of Peru and in North America’s Pacific Northwest. In each case these settlements were made possible by abundant local wild food, often in the form of fish or shellfish. Normally, hunter-gatherers move their camps to prevent the food supply in a particular area from being depleted, or to take advantage of the seasonal availability of different foods. But there is no need to move around if you settle next to a river and the food comes to you. Improvements in food-gathering techniques in the late Stone Age, such as better arrows, nets, and fish hooks, may also have promoted sedentism. Once a hunter-gatherer band could extract more food (such as fish, small rodents, or shellfish)from its surroundings, it did not need to move around so much.
According to paragraph 3, for hunter-gatherers to establish permanent settlements they must
Alive in areas where seasonal changes in climate are minimal
Bbe in an area with plentiful local supplies of wild foods throughout the year
Cbe willing to limit their diets to fish, small rodents, and shellfish
Dadopt some form of farming to supplement the food supply in their area
7
It is not hard to imagine how sedentary hunter-gatherers might have started to rely more heavily on cereal grains as part of their diet. What was initially a relatively unimportant food gradually became more important, for the simple reason that protofarmers (people who adopted practices such as weeding and irrigation to help food plants to grow)could ensure its presence(by planting and subsequent storage)in ways they could not for other foods. Archaeological evidence from the Near East suggests that protofarmers initially cultivated whatever wild cereals were at hand, such as einkorn wheat. But as they became more reliant on cereals they switched to more productive crops, such as emmer wheat, which produced more food for a given amount of labor.
The word “subsequent” in the passage is closest in meaning to
ACareful
BLater
Clong-term
Dregular
8
It is not hard to imagine how sedentary hunter-gatherers might have started to rely more heavily on cereal grains as part of their diet. What was initially a relatively unimportant food gradually became more important, for the simple reason that protofarmers (people who adopted practices such as weeding and irrigation to help food plants to grow)could ensure its presence(by planting and subsequent storage)in ways they could not for other foods. Archaeological evidence from the Near East suggests that protofarmers initially cultivated whatever wild cereals were at hand, such as einkorn wheat. But as they became more reliant on cereals they switched to more productive crops, such as emmer wheat, which produced more food for a given amount of labor.
According to paragraph 5,which of the following led to the greater significance of cereal grains?
AThey grew more quickly than other food plants.
BThey could be made available in some form throughout the year.
CThey required little weeding and irrigation to help them grow.
DThey provided hunter-gatherers with greater variety in their diet.
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Sedentism does not always lead to farming, and some settled hunter-gatherer groups survived into modern times without ever adopting agriculture.[■] But sedentism does make the switch to farming more likely. [■]Settled hunter-gatherers who gather wild grains might be inclined to start planting a few seeds in order to maintain the supply.[■] Planting might also have provided a form of insurance against variations in the supply of other foods. [■]And since grains are processed using grinding stones that are inconvenient for hunter-gatherers to carry from one camp to another, greater sedentism would have made grains a more attractive foodstuff. The fact that grains are energy rich and could be dried and stored for long periods also counted in their favor. They were not a terribly exciting foodstuff, but they could be relied upon in extreme circumstances.
Look at the four squaresthat indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage
These hunter-gatherers continued to find that the local wild food supply was adequate.
Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square sentence to the passage.
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Early farmers had to work much harder than hunter-gatherers and were less healthy, and yet farming became widely adopted.
AArchaeological evidence shows that farming had become well-established before 10,700 B.C , but the techniques that had developed were lost during a prolonged cold phase.
BAround 9500 B C. the climate became warmer,wetter, and more stable, providing one of the conditions necessary to begin farming.
CMost wild cereals were not very desirable foodstuffs but they could be stored for long periods,so until protofarmers developed more attractive varieties, they were generally eaten only in emergencies.
DWhen the Younger Dryas encouraged them to move near rivers and lakes, some hunter-gatherer groups stopped moving their camps as often as they had in earlier times.
ESedentism does not always lead to farming, but it makes using cereals as a major food much easier and, as a result, many sedentary hunter-gatherers began to cultivate cereals.
FIn a suitable climate,cultivation could make local cereal crops reliable and, as cereals became more important, protofarmers focused on varieties that yielded more food for less effort.
