Farming and Complexity
Driving Question: How did the transition to farming lead to new complexity?
Humans invented farming in different places around the world. How they did it and the effects of that transition are still felt today.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe how agriculture and complex societies changed the Earth.
- Explain how complexity increased as humans began farming.
Vocab Terms:
- agriculture
- civilization
- environment
- farming
- foraging
- society
Students might have some misconceptions about how farming began. Tap into their prior knowledge and use the Unit Notebook to help clear up those misconceptions before they begin learning about the Agricultural Revolution.
Humans foraged for close to 250,000 years. So what made people shift to farming? You’re about to find out!
Not every revolution involves armies or uprisings. Sometimes a shift in something as basic as how we get our food leads to huge changes. This comic and activity help explain this new complexity.
Students learn about Big History’s seventh threshold of increasing complexity in this lesson. Help jog their memory by showing them the graphic on page 2 of the Threshold Taglines activity in Unit 1.
How did the move from foraging to farming make societies more complex? This video and activity will help you understand how the challenges of settling in a single location and growing food led to other innovations.
Jingles can be annoying earworms that get stuck in your head. Test out your own jingle-writing skills using what you’ve learned in this lesson.
