Lecture 2: The Largest Step is now available for review on Blackboard in the Content Folder
A note on writing quality: Your written answers to the questions at the end of each lecture should demonstrate that you have read, understood, and reflected upon the course material, that you have thought about its implications, and drawn a meaningful response from them.
Answers which reflect a cohesive well written effort, which engage the course material, or which extend the conversation will be noted, and credited
Below some imagery and additional articles and resources detailing current geo-political and humanitarian and urban issues relating to and around production, processing and distribution of wheat in our contemporary times around the world - use them for reference in your answers if you need support to make a point!
Stay tuned to email, blackboard, and Jellospace Blog for the upcoming post on Lecture 3, and our first Discussion Forum: DemocraCITY, Social Space and the City - details to follow in a specific Jellospace posting
For this lecture in addition to your own comments, you will be responsible to read and write a critique, support, debate, or defense of an earlier position or observation made by a classmate.
A note on writing quality: Your written answers to the questions at the end of each lecture should demonstrate that you have read, understood, and reflected upon the course material, that you have thought about its implications, and drawn a meaningful response from them.
Answers which reflect a cohesive well written effort, which engage the course material, or which extend the conversation will be noted, and credited
Below some imagery and additional articles and resources detailing current geo-political and humanitarian and urban issues relating to and around production, processing and distribution of wheat in our contemporary times around the world - use them for reference in your answers if you need support to make a point!
- India: Food rots as people starve report by Jason Overdorf from Public Radio International on a wheat surplus and transport shortage due to mismanagement and politics in India in 2012
- The Quest for Everlasting Harvest report by Brooke Borel for NOVA in 2014 detailing how some farmers are returning to old methods of grain production for more sustainable and long term consistent yields in favor over prior high-yield high-impact farming methods.
Stay tuned to email, blackboard, and Jellospace Blog for the upcoming post on Lecture 3, and our first Discussion Forum: DemocraCITY, Social Space and the City - details to follow in a specific Jellospace posting
22 comments:
Literacy eventually became the most powerful too of persuasion because it directly implies intelligence. Being smarter than someone you are trying to persuade is definitely an advantage, because outsmarting said person either with facts or trickeries automatically becomes easier. Literacy, not yet spread amongst entire populations, also allows for a leader to rise as he can claim to have supernatural connections with deities through writing and reading. You can see how easily one could gain political power by proving their literacy.
According to what we learned from this article, plant and man had to come together in order to get food by themselves instead of abundantly provided for by the graciousness of nature. They relied on each other. In order to survive, man had to learn how to farm and wait for patiently for the harvesting instead of being nomadic existence. Man stopped from nomadic and learned more in farming and advanced in the field of husbandry. Once man ceased to be nomadic, he would became settled in a village environment and became a citizen. This was kind of settled agriculture. When more and more man worked together and created more farming, the cities and building of community started to form. The reason why plant was so important to the start of an organized civilization was that plant is kind of base like economy. According to the theory from Karl Marx, “The base determines (conditions) the superstructure, yet their relation is not strictly causal, because the superstructure often influences the base.” And civilization is a form of superstructure. Also from the perspective of the article, when men worked together, a surplus of food could be generated, and this kind of food will be used on the other men’s requirement and it would allow them to develop other critical skills. This kind of distribution requirement a certain leader which would leaded the society. And that was the key for the organized civilization.
After the thaw of the last ice age, an accidental genetic mutation in a certain strand of goat grass birthed a highly sustainable agricultural plant. The change gave way to one of the most important stepping stones on the road to civilization. Bread wheat changed the way nomads interacted with each other and brought them together. Once nomadic tribes realized wheat’s value to their tribe they settled in an area where the land was fertile and they, for the first time, had a new objective that didn’t require them to move from place to place every day. The wheat production brought people together because they had a universal goal of producing food from wheat by taking the plant and spreading its seed for the next growing season. The tribe relied on the plant for food and the plant relied on the tribe spread its seed.
Cities were possible due to the nomad’s exploitation of wheat, which lead to a higher understanding of farming and agriculture that lead to permanent settlements. The Community could continue to grow because more people could be sustained at a healthy level, for the first time their food source was reliable. And, by having this universal goal of exploiting wheat, built strong relationships that laid the foundation for an organized civilization. The plant is an important key to early civilizations because, without its discovery or mutations, man's advancements would very much be delayed. Wheat was able to be produced in large quantities, far larger than the settlements needed and for the first time a surplus of food was available. Food security allowed for others to hone other skills that would advance their civilizations and not worry about day to day survival.
Alec T.
In response to Alec T.:
I agree with your observation regarding food surplus allowing for man's advancement. It is true because humans used to deplete all their energy searching for food. The surplus allows time to be spent sharpening skills, such as literacy. It leads me to deduce that the first literate humans had a surplus of food.
Please disregard my first comment, I did not see the question "Why?" explained in further detail before I posted it. So, I would like to streamline my response (if possible).
Production of wheat brought people together because it is a crop where masses of it can be harvested easily. With this, people discovered the efficiency of teamwork and realized that organizing a food surplus creates more free time. This explains why wheat, a simple grain, is vital to the start of civilizations. Without it, man would continue to exhaust all his energy gathering food for just the day. The newfound free time allowed man to become literate and eventually implement new ideas, making the building of cities possible.
In response to Chelsea L.:
It’s interesting how literacy became one of the most important tools in these newly settled nomadic tribes. In my post, I failed to mention political figures that resulted from a surplus of food, but I find the outcome astonishing and I like how you described persuasion as the most powerful tool. Without the domestication of wheat and the development of a greater understanding of farming, a person wouldn’t be able to become more literate than the others and persuade them to follow.
Alec T.
Evolution is ultimately what brought wheat and people together. Due to the “genetic accident” which cross bred two different kinds of goat grass’ together, humans for the first time ever did not have to constantly roam the earth in search of food because this hybrid grass was now capable of spreading naturally in the wind and growing everywhere. Further cross breeding brought humans and wheat even closer together than ever before because now humans and wheat needed each other to survive: humans needed the wheat for food, and wheat needed humans to reproduce.
The relationship between wheat and humans made building communities possible for a couple of reasons. For starters, humans no longer had to roam the earth, and were not capable of settling down and establishing a permanent place near wheat crops. This eventually made it possible for humans to have time to think of new ideas and inventions now that they did not have to spend all of their time and energy trying to survive. This new found time then led to a multitude of grand ideas such as the domestication of animals, and the invention of the plough, which would all later prove extremely crucial to the form of civilization. Wheat was extremely important to the start of organized civilizations because once man was able to understand and exploit the crop, they were then able to feed populations on a larger scale, and eventually develop fundamental skills to keep the civilization alive such as creating a food surplus.
Charles I.
In response to Alec T,
I like how you noted that food security allowed for others to hone their skills which is crucial to the start of civilizations. Ultimately, if nomads had never discovered wheat, then they would have never been able to develop techniques such as creating food surplus’, and then they would not have had the time to develop critical village building techniques. I think it’s also important to note, however, that the idea of food surplus stemmed from the village leader, who was often times viewed as god-like. Part of the food surplus idea was to offer gifts to the deities, in order to thank them for the food. The gift of food to the deities was also believed to protect man from the wraiths of nature which included disasters such as disease, drought and hurricanes.
Charles I.
Going from Nomadic to being domesticated in farming and other resources is quite astounding within civilizations. Some advances may in fact seem simple as the article states but it brings survival to a entire new level and creates unfamiliar options. Wheat had been a lifesaver and the early onset of wheat would create a boom within the farming industry. However the wheat in later years would be much more abundant and healthier as farming progressed. The more understanding of the grain the more civilization would progress in a grander scope of things. When discussing Literacy as a new form of communication, what is better than reading and writing to help facilitate a better way of life. Literacy is everything and so much more.
The cross of two different strains of goat grass created a crop that could be harvested, allowing nomadic tribes to become agriculturally based villages. Agriculture would make living more sustainable and less about survival from day to day. Technologies such as the plough would emerge, and animals would be domesticated. With the devil monet of agriculture came the development of science.
This development with agriculture allowed for the time and intellectual innovation needed to create all things necessary for cvilization. Literacy emerged with this innovation, and with literacy came the ability to transfer specialized skills and knowledge, as well as the ability of persuasion. Literacy allows for a presentation of facts, and the ability to conceptually unite cities under a common belief. Literacy allows cities to develop codes, structures for law and governing, and a reasoning behind these actions. With these capabilities, literacy became the ultimate tool for persuasion, allowing discourse and debate to emerge with cities.
Sarah W.
Charles I.
I like how you elaborated not only on the development of agriculture, but on the relationship between the specific crop that allowed us these advancements and humans. Wheat and bread are crucial to the growth of civilization, as if you make bread traditionally, you have a sourdough that can never die given the right cultivation. I particularly liked how you expressed that specific relationship by saying wheat needed to be cultivated to expand and reproduce, as we need the wheat for subsistence and eventually reproducing. Wheat is still such a critical crop in agriculture and providing food for large populations today.
It may seem odd that a plant would be what brings people together and end the idea of living the nomadic life style but that is exactly what happened. Years preceding the end of the ice age a mutation of goat grass produced what we know today as wheat. Wheat it an essential plant it is used to produce flour which is used to make a number of foods; one of the most important at the time was bread. Wheat is what I would say allowed the nomadic tribes to settle into “civilization” instead of gathering food being a daily cycle which they relied on for survival. They were able to grow their own which gave them the chance to stock up on food. Furthermore, with the focus on agriculture it led to invention such as the domestication of animals and the use of a plough. The idea of inventing/innovating was not a focus up to this point since there was no need for invention/innovation when living the nomadic life style. Another innovation that came at this time was literacy, which was key since it is how one another communicated. It allowed them to share ideas and collaborate on further innovations and inventions. I would go so far as saying literacy is what unities cities. Literacy allows cities to structure themselves and grow exponentially.
Sean G
In Response to Jingting F
I agree with what you have to say in regards to man having to learn to farm instead of relying on the abundance of food provided by nature. It doesn’t make sense to put effort into always traveling to find food and resources when you can settle in an area, and put that time and energy into farming and growing your own food. By putting the energy into farming it will guarantee a food source rather than hoping to find one while traveling the land. This also gave nomads the chance to focus on invention and innovation, which will make them more efficient in their day to day life.
-Sean G
Villages came into existence via agriculture, no doubt; a surplus of food allowed for the distinction of labor responsibilities and, inevitably, a distinction in class structure. While the surplus of food allowed for others to focus on distinct, specialized labor responsibilities, the distinction in class structure noted in feudal societies may be a result of human nature. For those who organized the labor or food surplus after labor diversified, it gave them power. If food is the most powerful commodity at that time, those who own it are transitively powerful as well. Literacy goes hand-in-hand with this; it provides the literate with an edge, as communication is key in organizing labor. As mentioned in the article on India's grain production, those with the means to distribute food possess more power than those who cannot; the ability to distribute the surplus remains powerful to this day.
Alex F.
In response to Sean G:
The importance of literacy cannot be understated - I agree completely. Literacy, a powerful new form of communication, allowed for more innovation. Structurally, cities do rely heavily on literacy, although not everyone in the city needs to be literate - an important qualifier. However, those who formed the first cities most likely were literate. I would argue that literacy led to more innovation in agriculture, allowing for greater surpluses that allowed for villages to become cities. As we know, the industrial revolution rapidly expedited this process.
Alex F.
Production of food is one of the essential things for the human life, and nomadic people needed it to learn about harvest for their life. Especially, because the bread wheats needed man so that it can be propagated, it made bring people together. As the production of wheat made man had to give up nomadic life, man starts to settle down for the harvest seasons, and as a result, it makes the building of community or cities possible. In primitive way, a plant is a resource for food which is human needs to survive. Also, as food provided, the food surplus is occurred, and the distinction in class structure follows. The mechanical invention also follows as domestication of animals requires inventions. Those characteristics are quite obvious elements in an organized civilization.
Hyoeun L.
In response to Alex F.:
I agree with your statement that a surplus of food leaded to a distinction in class structure and it is related to a human nature. The reason why is like you mentioned, a surplus of food functioned as a commodity at the time of starting of an organized civilization. At that time, the distribution of power was started to occur by creating leader and deity among the general population.
Hyoeun L.
One main reason that nomadic tribes were really unable to be innovative was the lack of the concept of innovation. This is for good reason – and many times, the nomads were fighting to survive on a day-to-day basis. Because of this lack of time, there really is no room for revolutionary innovation.
Additionally, the rapid and constant movement to new homes was just that – constant. Another factor that had to do with it most likely had to do with conformity and the fear of change. Life was pretty good as it was – why risk it for an uncertain future?
I think one thing that could have changed the nomadic lifestyle a lot sooner isn’t necessarily a tool, but simply a safe place. With their safety assured, nomads would have evolved much faster, and are more likely to have innovated much earlier.
Please disregard my previous comment...I made an incorrect copy+paste from my word document.
Ultimately, I think time is what allowed nomads to realize that working together would help them survive more sustainably that day-to-day movement. They realized that working together, creating a more collaborative and quite possibly collegial atmosphere would help them survive in the long run.
All of the collaboration was really borne from the passage of time, and experience, and when many nomads realized a life of agriculture was much better and far more sustainable than the culture they would have continued. This ultimately led to the development of increased literacy, allowing for the further communication of ideas, and for better or worse, opinions. Overall, literacy is particularly noticeable in its role as the underpinning theme in providing a base for future development.
In response to Alex F.
Well said with literacy, it does go hand in hand and communication is everything.
Production of wheat brought people together because it allowed for there to be a fixed point where food was available, enabling permanent settlement as opposed to spending all of life on the hunt for food and using temporary tools. Wheat allowed for the building of cities because having a crop that is readily available for multiple people allows for further development around that crop. Further development can mean the planting of more crops and the ability to have animals for harvesting, as well as the construction of permanent infrastructure. A plant is so important to the start of organized civilization because it provides a reason to be stationary; there is a food source that can be replenished year after year. Having a renewable source of food provides certainty and security to sustain life rather than not knowing if the next year will be survivable because they do not know what it will bring.
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