GGR329H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Herbivore, Domestication, Fertile Crescent
Document Summary
Humans selected mutants that would not have survived in the wild (peas, lentils, flax. Humans looked for opposite of nature, which has germination inhibitors to prevent. Try to reproduce the original good mutant especially those that do not reproduce. Early farmers didn"t understand genetics, but began selecting for: Size, taste (bitterness; poisonous), fleshiness, oiliness, fiber length. But what is good for humans might not necessarily be good for plant survival in the wild. Other types of changes not involving conscious choices: wild mechanisms for the dispersal of seeds and poppies, wheat and barley) without humans looking out for it quick and simultaneous germination themselves. To make farming attractive: need to package and not single plant/animal. Fertile crescent vs other mediterranean zones: plant reproduction. Highland ppl are all farmers who supplemented their diet with wild food. 3 severe limitations: no cereal crops (cant last a long time.
