The history of agriculture begins with the Neolithic Revolution, an event that occurred around 12,000 years ago but is still having lasting impacts. The warming of the Earth in this post-Ice Age period allowed humans to stay in one place where crops were planted and animals were domesticated (Gascoigne). Although the Neolithic Revolution allowed populations to flourish and cities to develop, it can also be held accountable for the beginning of poor agricultural practices.The Neolithic Revolution was sparked by climate change. The earth warmed up; as a result, plants were more abundant and animals migrated to colder regions. Some humans began cultivating the surplus of crops, while others continued the practice of hunting and gathering. Jericho is the first known region where crop cultivation occurred, and it is also the first known town, with a population of 2,000 people (Gascoigne). While the adoption of crop cultivation helped civilizations like Jericho develop and increase their populations, there is a negative side to crop cultivation. The change in land use from forests to farmland released carbon into the atmosphere. Because trees absorb carbon, tearing them down causes their stored carbon to be released into the atmosphere. Once in the atmosphere, this carbon can undergo a chemical reaction and become carbon dioxide (Adger and Brown). Jericho is one example of how agricultural practices led to increased populations, further contributing to global warming through deforestation.Another type of agricultural change caused by the Neolithic Revolution was the domestication of livestock, which allowed humans to become less nomadic. Villages and towns were able to develop and survive off of nearby resources. However, the domestication of livestock caused resources to go to animals instead of humans, meaning more crops had to be produced (Foley et al.). Another negative result of livestock is the amount of manure produced, which contains large amounts of methane. While carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide levels were not severely influenced by the Neolithic Revolution, they have experienced increases in the past 8,000 years that have caused the Earth to be warmer than it would have been without anthropogenic influences (Ruddiman). This revolution marks the beginning of a rise in anthropogenic gases and also created the groundwork for future agricultural practices that have had greater impacts on global warming.
