End of Domestication Exercise

ANT 207

Friday, February 5, 2010

Please answer the following questions in your groups, for 5 points:

1) Why were starchy grains the first domesticates in the Levant, northern China, and southern China, rather than another type of food-producing plant?

2) Why was squash the first domesticate in Mesoamerica and North America, rather than a starchy grain?

3) How much of domestication and food production around the world was due to environment? How much was it due to cultural developments? How much was it due to individual choice and genius? Support your answers.