Nomadism and agriculture are common topics in TOEFL reading. If you know agriculturalturist (farm worker), nomadic (nomadic), pastoralism (animal husbandry), horticulture (gardening), hunting and gathering (hunting and gathering) and have a certain understanding of them Understand, if you encounter similar subjects, you will be more handy, so today we will come to popularize this kind of knowledge.
Nomadic life is such a mode of production:
Live by grazing, live by water and grass , and move wherever they can feed livestock (livestock) ; rely on meat (meat) and milk (milk) to solve most of the food, and then use fur (fur), meat and dairy products (dairy) ) exchange daily necessities and some grains with farmers (agriculturist). In this way, the most precious wealth of nomadic animal husbandry is livestock, and everything comes from livestock. Therefore, nomadic peoples had to guarantee trade with farming peoples during the period of human agricultural civilization, and they had a strong dependence on foreign countries. However, one of the biggest problems of nomadic animal husbandry is the instability of production . Once there is a drought or snowstorm and other climate change (climatic change) that causes a large number of deaths of livestock , it means a crisis of survival (crisis ) - meat and milk Products are not preserved for as long as grain. At this time, the nomads had no choice but to plunder in order to survive . Because nomads often fight with the harsh natural environment, wolves, other people who steal livestock, etc., and eat meat and dairy products every day, all nomads are fierce and good at fighting . Coupled with the cavalry equipped with a large number of horses, the invasion of these "barbarians" became a nightmare for agricultural civilization .
Nomads of skill and knowledge migrate wherever they can feed their skins and pockets . Rely on your own strong learning ability and quick reaction ability to survive.
The counterattack of agriculture (agriculture)
Nomadism has advantages such as mobility, a healthier state of health , and stronger military power, but why has agriculture successfully counterattacked?
The invention of farming on Earth is called the " Green Revolution" or "the Neolithic Age Revolution". Agriculture is generally considered to have emerged on the basis of hunting and gathering economies. In the process of collecting wild plants for a long time, people gradually mastered the growth laws of some edible plants. After countless practices, they finally cultivated and domesticated them into crops, thus developing agriculture. The time is about At the end of the Palaeolithic age or the beginning of the Neolithic age 10,000 years ago.
There are many hypotheses about the origin of agriculture. For example, religions believe that the domestication of animals and plants is mainly for religious reasons, and that humans raise animals and plant crops mainly to prepare tributes for priests. Cattle, sheep, pigs, pigeons and plants were all used for priests or witchcraft in ancient times. Up to now, there is a this belt have a special kind of respect for cattle. religious feelings. Of course, the origin of agriculture and climate change (climatic change) such as the Ice Age (the glacial period) mentioned in TPO21-2, as well as toolmaking (toolmaking), pottery invention (pottery invention), settlement (settlement), population increase ( population growth) and other factors. The emergence of primitive agriculture in China was about 10,000 years ago , and the earliest successfully planted grains were mainly millet, millet and rice .
There are many myths and legends about the origin of agriculture. The ancient Greek goddess Demeter is the god of agriculture, fertility and marriage; in Egypt, the god of agriculture is Isis, the daughter of the earth and the sun . , Regarding the origin of Chinese agriculture, there are many beautiful legends and stories in ancient books, and the origin of agriculture is often attributed to the great Shennong, Houji and Huangdi or other emperors, famous officials and so on. From these legends, we can understand the basic appearance of primitive agriculture.
Temeto, Isis, Shennong
Agriculture PK Nomad
The conflicts and battles between agricultural civilization and nomadic civilization are endless. Historically, there is no question of who is stronger between farming peoples and nomadic peoples, but whoever prospers will gain the upper hand in the struggle. This can be seen from the relationship between the Han and the Xiongnu, the Tang and the Turks, and the relationship between the Ming and Mongolia and the Qing. It is often the end of the dynasties of the farming people, when the society is corrupt, and the nomads take the opportunity to go south . With the rise of dynasties, the country became rich and powerful, and the nomads returned to the north. After the nomads conquered the agricultural areas, they continued to farm for stable development.
