Vidence that ancient farms had very different origins than previously thought

arstechnica.com/science/2017/08/evidence-that-humans-had-farms-30000-years-earlier-than-previously-thought/

>Until recently, anthropologists believed cities and farms emerged about 9,000 years ago in the Mediterranean and Middle East. But now a team of interdisciplinary researchers has gathered evidence showing how civilization as we know it may have emerged at the equator, in tropical forests. Not only that, but people began altering their environments for food and shelter about 30,000 years earlier than we thought.

>In an article published in Nature Plants, Max Planck Institute archaeologist Patrick Roberts and his colleagues explain that cities and farms are far older than we think. Using techniques ranging from genetic sampling of forest ecosystems and isotope analysis of human teeth, to soil analysis and lidar, the researchers have found ample evidence that people at the equator were actively changing the natural world to make it more human-centric.

>It all started about 45,000 years ago. At that point, people began burned down vegetation to make room for plant resources and homes. Over the next 35,000 years, the simple practice of burning back forest evolved. People mixed specialized soils for growing plants; they drained swamps for agriculture; they domesticated animals like chickens; and they farmed yam, taro, sweet potato, chili pepper, black pepper, mango, and bananas.

>École française d'Extrême-Orient archaeologist Damian Evans, a co-author on the Nature paper, said that it wasn't until a recent conference brought international researchers together that they realized they'd discovered a global pattern. Very similar evidence for ancient farming could be seen in equatorial Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Much later, people began building "garden cities" in these same regions, where they lived in low-density neighborhoods surrounded by cultivated land.

Min ancient human theories are making more and more sense.

>"garden cities" in these same regions, where they lived in low-density neighborhoods surrounded by cultivated land.

sounds edenic

Interesting. There's a theory that the rise of centralized Mesopotamian civilization was triggered by ecological changes which forced people to band together in larger and more authoritarian groups, not simply by the rise of farming. Maybe it's correct after all. I've always thought that growing wheat isn't really the sort of thing you would do unless you really had do. It produces a lot of food, but it seems to me that farming other kinds of food is easier.

looks like early slash and burn techniques.

So where the fuck did all that go? There are no traces of this left anywhere in the world. It didn't lead anyplace. These cultures just vanished completely. I don't buy it. Agriculture is a big deal outside the tropics, how come it was just a worthless thing in the jungle? They must be very wrong about something, or the world would look not the way it does.

Which culture? India and SEA still exist. Although their archeology material were destroyed by tropical climate, war and eternal anglo/dutch.

India is based on traditional farming and SEA as well. I can't think of a single culture that practiced the stuff these people are describing. Not even modern jungle people. In Indonesia they don't even do that, they have different plants.

Brazilian natives did with tierra petra

U wot m8? All culture mentioned in the article are agro based culture. And the culture can still be seen until now except for Indonesia who become maritime culture. Even some of them still retain their agro root. If you want hard evidence like building and shit, than you are asking for impossible in god damn tropical shithole. And they said about basic slash and burn farming not some hydroponic shit.