The Sociocultural Complex of Plant Cultivation

Work, Life, and Value: Economic Anthropology ANTH 2301 The Sociocultural Complex of Plant Cultivation Similar to the Kayapó, gardening is frequently coupled with hunting, gathering, and even pastoralism to create a very effective, adaptable subsistence plan. Many communities that engage in extensive agriculture also maintain animals and forage, but they dedicate far less time to hunting and gathering. Farming people establish permanent villages as they grow more and more dependent on their harvests. These towns often comprise of extended-family homes with a central gathering place for public gatherings, similar to the Kayapó. The majority of villages are made up of many extended families, each with a family head or group of elders. Families must work together to create irrigation plans, trading networks, and land distribution and protection as agricultural practices become more intensive. To plan these events, structures for collective decision-making and community leadership develop. The next chapter will cover such political formations. Much more labour is involved in plant cultivation than in collecting and hunting. The physical demands of tilling, seeding, watering, weeding, managing pests, and (ideally) harvesting are as taxing as clearing small trees and undergrowth for new garden plots. Crops need to be either processed for market or domestic use or turned into something useful throughout the year. Ploughs, scythes, and other tools need to be manufactured or purchased and serviced on a regular basis. Ploughs and draft animals, when in operation, need daily maintenance. Agricultural societies depend on the labour of extended families, who divide up responsibilities according on age and gender, to do all of this work. Typically, women do the seeding, daily weeding and watering, and males handle the clearing of the land. Children assist with garden duties; they are sometimes tasked with delivering water or chasing away tiny creatures and birds that scavenge crops. Women prepare goods for domestic use, such food and crafts, whereas males create and maintain equipment and tend to animals. Women create garments, shoes, baskets, and ceramics (until artisans take over this labour). Younger children are looked after by girls who work as babysitters while their parents attend to other responsibilities. In the public sphere, males are usually seen leading large families and villages, but in smaller groupings, such in Kayapó culture, women frequently speak out for their rights and exercise leadership. The distribution of power and effort among genders varies greatly. While women handle crop marketing in certain civilizations, males handle it in others. When huge cash crops like wheat and rice develop and farming intensifies, it is common for males to market the cash crops while women sell the vegetables from home gardens. The annual cycle of the changing seasons shapes the process of cultivating plants. Plant-cultivating communities often have a similar yearly calendar for their social life, with festivals, ceremonies, and rituals designating different phases of the cultivation process. For example, reciting spells or engaging in other forms of "garden magic" is a common practice while getting garden plots ready for planting. Magical blessings and charms benefit communities who greatly rely on the prosperity of their harvests by promoting favourable weather and healthy plants, as well as easing their fears. Large-scale festivals celebrating harvests may include feasts, unique song and dance performances, and remembrances of gods and ancestors. A thorough understanding of soil composition, weather patterns, biology of plants and animals, and geology is essential for successful plant cultivation (see Edington 2017 for an excellent summary). A great deal of knowledge exists among farmers on the interaction between seed and soil. Six types of soil are recognised by Tanzanian Sukuma farmers: five are suitable for growing a certain crop (rice, maize, sorghum and two varieties of groundnuts), while the sixth kind is only suitable for cattle grazing. With their extensive knowledge of 35 distinct potato types, Peruvian potato growers are able to tailor each variety to the sort of soil and environmental circumstances that would yield the best possible crop. Environmental cues are what farmers use to determine when planting and harvesting are best. They keep an eye out for signs of wild plant blossoming and fruiting, bird migration, and shifting star patterns in the night sky. The ingress of monsoon is signalled by the blooming of yellow flowers on laburnum trees, a sight that many Indian farmers await. Some depend on the pied-crowned cuckoo, which appears shortly before the monsoon season begins. Diverse methods are employed by farming communities to control pests and weeds in their gardens. Certain weeds are useful as food sources and materials for handicrafts like basketry. It is common practice to hunt animals drawn to crops as additional sources of protein. Larger creatures like rats can be captured and consumed as meat, and grasshoppers and locusts can be deep-fried into crispy snacks. Many growers employ certain plants to ward against pests and weeds. Aphids and caterpillars were repelled from crops by the thunder god vine's root bark, according to traditional Chinese farmers. Other plants, including mint and neem, are utilised to keep insects away from harvested crops. This extensive understanding of the natural world is supported by a set of values that place a strong emphasis on environmental preservation. Environmental information is frequently passed down through songs, stories, legends, and rituals that are interwoven with supernatural beliefs and cultural values. In addition to serving as archives of supernatural beliefs and behaviours, ancient religious texts also serve as archives of environmental knowledge and values. Hindu scriptures like the Vedas, for instance, dictated in ancient India that people should coexist peacefully with nature rather than taking advantage of it (Jain 2019). Some plants and trees that held special significance for people were worshipped and connected to otherworldly entities. The Vedas stipulated fines for chopping down particular plants and trees and demanded their conservation. Plant farmers typically uphold a respect for nature and force their followers to engage in environmentally friendly farming methods that conserve biodiversity and the land. As previously stated, compared to horticultural techniques, intensive agriculture yields a far greater surplus. Towns grew into cities as a result of agricultural surpluses and population growth in villages. The earliest major urban centre in Mesopotamia, and arguably the whole globe, was the city of Uruk, which emerged around 7,000 years ago in what is now Iraq (Nardo 2007; Wallenfels and Sasson 2000). It had between 50,000 and 80,000 residents during its height of population, with more residing in the nearby metropolitan region. The people who lived nearby engaged in farming and herding, selling their produce in the city marketplaces. A group of artisans, notably metalworkers and fabric manufacturers, who did not engage in farming, provided for themselves within the city. The inhabitants of Uruk engaged in extensive trade with peoples in Mesopotamia and modern-day western Iran. A class of construction workers was able to build magnificent temples and city walls thanks to the riches that accumulated in the city (Pittman 2019). We refer to these kinds of public buildings as monumental architecture. Cuneiform script was created as an accounting technique to monitor commerce and stock. A king-led centralised administration oversaw this intricate economy. Similar to Uruk in Mesopotamia, the ancient Egyptian city of Abydos, the Indus Valley city of Harappa, and the Chinese city of Anyang also arose near rivers, places where intense agriculture encouraged population growth (Rizvi 2007). Cities served as locations for the specialisation of crafts, the coordination of local trade, the construction of imposing buildings, the advancement of writing, and the consolidation of authority. About 4,000 years ago, the Zapotec metropolis of Monte Albán arose as the administrative centre of Mesoamerica, with its pyramids, ball courts, and vast stone plaza. Around the same period as Monte Albán, the location of Caral in modern-day Peru became a metropolis with its own plaza and pyramids. All of these cities, which were founded on agricultural excess, exhibit diverse demographics, urban planning, regional trade, and imposing architecture.