Farming Core Concepts, Part 2

Here at Keller Crafted Meats, you can find a delicious selection of hand cut non GMO meats available for order online at your convenience. We use only the cutting edge in farming techniques here. But we are only able to do that because so many farmers before us paved the way. To celebrate them, here is an overview of some core farming concepts used throughout history.

Horticulture

Horticulture refers to the practice of tending crops in a set garden space. Soil is prepared beforehand in order to maximize nutrients for the crop. One trait of horticulture is that crops are grown not just for immediate consumption but for storage as well. Because horticulture requires a more or less permanent location, populations that rely on it are forced into fortified communities to protect their food source. Horticultural tools that clue us in to the prevalence of this practice throughout ancient times include hoes, sickles, and the beginning of changes in plant biology that led to their domestication.

Pastoralism

Pastoralism merely refers to the raising and tending to of animals. It has been used in just about every culture and every kind of environment in recorded history. The earliest instances of pastoralism were with sheep, goats, and pigs over 10,000 years ago. Cattle were domesticated in the Sahara not long after. The process of pastoralization is still going on with many animals. For instance, as recently as the mid 19th century, the ostrich was domesticated and raised by pastoralists.

 Seasonality

Seasonality refers to the archaeological concept of what time of year certain sites of land are worked on, as well as the behavior patterns of land use. Before modern transportation made hunger less of a problem, short growing seasons could be devastating to communities, so they had to make the most of the time that they had. Farmers would work their land when they could, either constructing huge storage facilities to prepare for winter or moving to a more hospitable climate when the land was no longer viable.

Sedentism

Tied to the concept of horticulture, sedentism refers to the process of settling down. As people started to work their own plots of land for sustenance, that land required more and more of their focus. Humans began to live in sedentist communities starting over 12,000 years ago. Whether a community settles down or roams as nomads is largely determined by how they obtain their resources.

Hopefully this proved informative. If you are looking for humanely raised, hand cut, non GMO meat online, give Keller Crafted Meats a try! We ship right to your door. Feel free to give us a call for more information on our products or delivery!