AGRICULTURE AND CIVILIZATION PAGE \*

MERGEFOR
NAME: ROSELLE M. VILLEGAS SCORE: ______________
YR & SEC: 2M GROUP NO. 07 DATE: June 21, 2022

ACTIVITY NO. 07
THRESHOLD 7 – AGRICULTURE

A. Encircle the letter of the term or phrase that best completes each statement or best
answers each question. Answers are highlighted in yellow.

1. _______________ is the process by which humans breed a population of plants or animals to

make them more productive, easier to control, or more beneficial to humans in other ways.
A. Irrigation
B. Domestication
C. Sedentism
D. Civilization

2. How do the plants that humans choose to cultivate benefit from human attention?
A. The plants grow better as a result of human contact.
B. The plants no longer need water and sunlight in order to prosper.
C. The plants are closely tended to and protected from predators.
D. They don’t.

3. Geographically, farming began in _____________.

A. South Africa
B. the Fertile Crescent
C. China
D. North America

4. What other factor, besides climate change, brought about the age of agriculture at the end of
the last ice age?
A. Population pressure
B. An asteroid strike
C. A sharp decrease in precipitation
D. A pandemic of disease

5. The _____________ people are credited for developing agriculture.

A. Chinese
B. New Guinean
C. South American
D. Natufian

6. Farming and the surplus of food allowed humans to focus on activities other than food
production, which led to the division of labor and the creation of new social classes.
A. True
B. False

7. Rulers and government were a necessary consequence of agricultural production and the
creation of civilizations because someone had to keep track of the surplus of food and organize
large-scale irrigation projects.
A. True
B. False

8. All early agricultural civilizations developed near _____________.

A. mountains
B. rivers
C. canyons
D. volcanoes

9. Written records provide humans with the ability to preserve and pass on large amounts of
information from one generation to the next.
A. True

BIG HISTORY (NGEC1223) BPSU SCIENCE CLUSTER

 AGRICULTURE AND CIVILIZATION PAGE \*
MERGEFOR
B. False

10. Historians and scientists study events by using the same tools, artifacts, and documents.
A. True
B. False

11. Evidence-based history relies on the credibility of historians and on oral tradition.
A. True
B. False

12. Historians only use written historical accounts to study past events.
A. True
B. False

B. Match the characteristics of each civilization with the reasons why each of these elements
was needed as populations and food supplies grew. Write your answer on the space
provided.

Storage of surplus food 13.Records of surpluses were needed to keep track of the food supplies
Systems of writing or recording information 14.People needed a way to explain a natural
phenomena
Monumental public architecture 15.Someone has to organise building projects, food surpluses
and irrigation projects
Development of a priestly class 16.People began to build temples to honour gods
Specialised jobs 17.The surplus of food meant that people could focus on other occupations
Central rule 18.Some people become wealthier and powerful than others
Social rank based on wealth, ancestry, and job 19.Someone had to protect the people, buildings
and food surpluses
Increased trade 20.The government need a way to collect money to help pay for infrastructures

C. Answer the following questions.

1. Human population growth increased dramatically with the development of farming. What
might happen if the human population continues to grow?
● As the population grows, the demand for food also raises as a result the price of
agricultural outputs increase.

2. Can humans continue to grow enough food to support population growth? Explain your
answer.
● Yes, it goes without saying that we need sustainable agriculture to support a growing
population.
● We need a cropping system that can survive climate change, which must rely on a
sustainable approach and strike a balance between commercial and organic agriculture.

3. Do you think there is any limit to the growth of agriculture around the world? Explain your
answer.
● According to D Gale Johnson, price instability, income instability, and government
involvement are all barriers to a fully established agricultural-based economy. Several
factors contribute to the volatility of farm prices. Climate, soil type, relief, geography, and
socioeconomic conditions are among physical factors that limit an area's agricultural
development.

4. What animal was the first to be domesticated by humans? Approximately when did this take
place?
● Goats were most likely the first domesticated animals, followed by sheep. Chickens were
domesticated roughly 10,000 years ago in Southeast Asia. Larger animals, such as oxen or
horses, were later domesticated for ploughing and transportation.

BIG HISTORY (NGEC1223) BPSU SCIENCE CLUSTER

 AGRICULTURE AND CIVILIZATION PAGE \*
MERGEFOR

BIOGRAPHY OF A CROP

Research and write a report on one of twelve key crops from human history. Choose from the
following: Banana, Barley, Corn, Manioc, Millet, Potato, Rice, Sorghum, Soybean, Sugar cane,
Sweet Potato, and Wheat. In your research you should look for the following information about
your crop:

Name of your crop: Rice

● your crop’s scientific name: Oryza sativa

● where and when your crop was first domesticated and what people first domesticated it
Rice Was First Grown At Least 9,400 Years Ago. Archaeologists have unearthed bits of
rice from when it was first domesticated in China. Around 10,000 years ago, as the
Pleistocene gave way to our current geological epoch, a group of hunter-gathers near
China's Yangtze River began changing their way of life.
● your crop’s nutritional value (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats)

● your crop’s growing cycle and requirements for water, nutrients, and sunlight
Rice is grown during two seasons per year (called monsoon and summer), with 5.6 and 1.2
M ha planted with rice during the monsoon and summer season, respectively. Lowland
rainfed and irrigated rice are the most important rice ecosystems, accounting for ca.

Rice is typically grown in bunded fields that are continuously

flooded up to 7−10 days before harvest. Continuous flooding helps
ensure sufficient water and control weeds. Lowland rice requires a
lot of water. On average, it takes 1,432 liters of water to produce 1
kg of rice in an irrigated lowland production system.

Rice needs nitrogen almost throughout the vegetative cycle, but in particular at tillering
and panicle initiation stages. Nitrogen accumulates first in the leaves (vegetative phase)
then migrates to the panicles and grains (maturity). At maturity, 75% of the nitrogen
assimilated is present in the grains.

An area that gets full sun, a minimum of 6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day, is required to
grow rice.
● any farming techniques or technologies humans use to grow your crop
Dry-seeding - sowing dry seeds in dry soil,
Wet-seeding - sowing pre-germinated seeds on wet soils.
Water seeding - seeds sown in standing water.
● your crop’s significance to the human story

Over half of the world's population uses it as their main source of energy since it is a
complex carb. The amount of protein, iron, manganese, fiber, and vitamin B in rice varies
depending on the strain. It can thus be quite important in the fight against malnutrition.
At weddings, rice is sometimes tossed in some cultures.

BIG HISTORY (NGEC1223) BPSU SCIENCE CLUSTER