AP Human Geography Economic Activity and Agriculture
The earliest systems are marked by
1)
2)
3)
4)
Reliance on subsistence food gathering or agriculture
The vast majority of economic relations occurring within a small group, as part of a clan or a village
Small-scale production and
Extensive use of a barter system, which involved the trading of goods and services
Describe hunting and gathering as an economic system: self-contained, based on small groups of people with little
outside exchange, there were rules and traditions regarding the exchanged and division of labor within the group and
some specializations based on age and gender
“Neolithic” means: New Stone Age
Primitive agriculture was found in what kind of settlements? Villages
Primitive agriculture was almost entirely subsistence-based. The economic system could divide how to deal with the
surplus.
Feudalism is a small-scale economic system based on self-contained estates, controlled by a lord or master. It is defined
by
1) Farming is done by bounded peasants, termed serfs on a manor
2) Most of the surplus ceded to the lord of the manner which he uses to support himself, his household and his
retinue
3) The feudal economic system was not based on cash or wages-surplus was simply passed over the lords through
the payment of rent in exchange for protection
4) There was very little trade, as nearly all production, consumption and exchange was contained within the feudal
system
What was the feudal system based on and when did it tend to emerge? Personal relationships, emerged during periods
of weak political control
What was the most famous period of feudalism? During Europe’s Middle Ages
Figure 15D.1 What does the map show? Primary agricultural hearths, the crops domesticated and the time it began
What are the two theories introduced to explain why people adopt agriculture?
Carl Sauer: agriculture occurs in a favorable environment where plenty of food and water were available and where people
led reasonably carefree existence with a lot of leisure time; ideal locale would be near present-day Thailand; whole plant is
used to plant new food (vegeculture)
V. Gordon Childe: claimed that agriculture began during periods of environmental stress, perhaps as a result of global
warming after the end of glaciation, would have occurred in SW Asia; seed agriculture
What is carrying capacity? The number of people an area can support
What example does Jared Diamond use to help explain human selection? Almonds: most almonds in the wild are bitter and
poisonous but a mutation causes some almonds to lose this trait with human selection almonds were nurtured and allowed to
flourish
Give examples of crop complexes: (distinct crops grown in certain areas that became the basis of regional cuisines) Middle East
developed barley and wheat, northern China domesticated millet, SE Asia was the first with yams and taro plant, and Meso-America
used maize
What are ecotones? a place where there existed two or more separate environments that allowed for a greater variety of foodstuffs
at different times of the year
Define arable: areas conducive to farming
What is aridity line? Areas that are simply too dry to sustain agriculture without a massive infusion of water
What is the thermal deficit line? Parts of the world that are too cold for agriculture
What is the difference between animal-centered and plant-centered agriculture?
Animal centered is based on livestock (herders/ranchers) located where climate and soil are less amenable to intensive cultivation of
crops and plant centered is based on cultivating crops
What is the difference between subsistence and commercial agriculture?
Subsistence: nearly all of the crops and livestock are used to support the farmer, the farmer’s family and perhaps a larger group
within the clan or village. People consume what they produce, cultivate a variety of crops
Commercial: crops and livestock are farmed for cash and are considered commodities intended to be exchanged for payment, focus
on one or two items in order to gain a maximum return on their investment, choice depends on comparative advantage of land,
market demands and the quantity and skills of the farmers
Figure 15E.1 What is unique about milk consumption in the world?
Most people are lactose intolerant except for northern Europe among (Germanic, Scandinavian, Finnish and British), nomadic
populations in Arabia, the Sahel and Sudan, and the Tutsi population of Rwanda and Burundi
Figure 15E.2 What is pastoral nomadism and mixed agricultural economy?
Pastoral nomadism: (Moving around not settled) Cultures in areas that were too harsh for crops and moved seasonally with their
animals to locate the available water
Mixed: Heavy reliance on both plants and animals, animals were used for meat, fertilizer, source of fabric, traction in plowing,
mobility and a source of dairy
Give an example of agribusiness
Large companies who hire individuals to cultivate crops or raise livestock, example: Tyson Foods
Figure 15E.4 What is unique about world land use?
Most of commercial crop and livestock agriculture is located in N America and Europe, Subsistence Farming is mainly located in India
& SE Asia & E Asia, and Forestry is located in northern parts of the continents, no agricultural activity in desert areas
Define comparative advantage? Give an example.
Dictates that a specific region does a better job of producing something than another region does, determines how to use the land
(urban, particular crop, forest, etc)
What is land rent?
Profitability of a piece of land
Figure 15F.1 What does von Thunen say about rural land use?
Land rent=(output X (price-production costs)) – (output x transport costs x distance from market)
Land rent received , impact of distance (especially of perishable foods, or bulky and heavy items)
What assumptions can be made about the US? (Figure 15F.3)
NYC only market in the country
Crops ranked by rent-paying ability
No terrain variation
Climatic variation, colder in north, warmer in south
What is the Columbian Exchange? Global exchange of of crops that occurred after 1492
What are the methods of how farmers used devices to maximize yields? (Complete the statements below)
Traditional fertilizer came from livestock but is now based around synthetic nitrogen
Farmers purchase special hybrid seeds that can quadruple the amount of yield on an acre of land, newest seeds are
genetically modified
Farmers require vast inputs of herbicides and pesticides to ensure that these expensive seeds are able to grow to maturity
Planting on types of enormous acreages that constitute a modern commercial farm requires expensive farm equipment
What is the Green Revolution? What areas was it to benefit?
Agricultural developments beginning in the 1950’s and 1960’s to import Western agricultural practices to subsistence farms in Asia,
LA and Africa (better seeds, heavy use of fertilizers, better irrigation systems, more mechanization, and larger plots of land)
What are some problems that resulted from the Green Revolutions?
Modern techniques were too expensive for farmers to pursue which hurt smaller, poorer farmers, and were not as environmentally
friendly as some of the more traditional methods
Figure 15G.2 what is the figure saying about globalization of agriculture?
Multinational agribusiness holds a tremendous sway in food production, reliance of modern farming on herbicides and pesticides
means a strong market for these products, few companies are responsible for sale of expensive farm equipment, Africa is appealing
because land is inexpensive