Farming_in_Early_America

| Farming in Early America September 8, 2013 | Dina Wallace | | Farming in Early America Farming Techniques have changed throughout history. Farmers have had to adapt differently to the climate changes as the land changed. Beringia, a land bridge, brought migration to North America from Asia. At the end of the ice-age, with warming climates, water covered what was once frozen ground. With the rising waters people were able to migrate in boats along the Pacific Coast. These people, who were used to hunting big animals for food, found that as they moved south the animals became smaller. This is when they started to incorporate plants into their diets. The Fertile Crescent, an area in the Middle East that is shaped like a crescent moon, is regarded as the birthplace of agriculture (Mark). Cultivations of grains and cereal were practiced. With these cultivations and the fertile ground came the incorporation of wheat, rye, barley, and legumes. With these came the earliest beer making techniques and migration of the crops into North America. The Native Americans were mostly hunters and gatherers and had little luck at farming. What they were good at was gathering greens and berries. But soon they learned how to cultivate corn, beans and squash. The Iroquios Indians would grow these three items in what they called the Three Sisters Technique. This was the idea that planting the beans around the corn, this would stabilize the corn stalks, and the squash vines would be used as mulch and ground cover for weeds (Formiga). This technique was used for at least 300 years before the Europeans arrived. The Hohokam were abundant in the Southwest region. These areas included the Salt and Gila rivers in Southern Arizona. The Hohokam people were some of the first tribes to use irrigation systems. They channeled river water through canals to distribute water to their crops of maize, beans, tobacco and cotton Another tribe of Indians called the Adena, developed their crops of maize during the first millennium. These people practiced mound building. These people lived in semi-permanent villages. These people were succeeded by the Hopewell tribes who in turn succeeded at a trading network through the Rocky Mountains. Works Cited Mark, Joshua J. "Fertile Crescent." Ancient Encyclopedia History. 02 Sept. 2009: Web. 8 Sep. 2013. . Formiga, Alice. "Renee's Garedn." Three Sisters Garden. 2013: Web. 8 Sep. 2013. .