Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 16, 2006 13:49:09 GMT -5
America’s first farmers were women
By Bill Burr - Jacks and River Hogs
Who was the first to disturb the soil and plant seeds in it?
Who was America’s first geneticist?
America’s first farmers were American Indian women. They domesticated
the plants of the eastern woodlands.
The Indian women were the ones who retained the botanical information.
They knew which plants made the best clothing, which plants were safe to
eat, which plants to make dye from, which plants could be made into rope
and many more things plants could be used for.
They knew which leaves, bark, roots, stems and berries could cure
disease and help heal wounds.
Through history, it would be the Indian women who would plant the seeds
and tend the tribe’s garden, for there was no such thing as a one-family
garden. Everything done by men or women was done for the good of the
tribe. When a hunter came back to camp with game, it was shared by all.
The Indian women harnessed the potential of domesticated plants for
thousands of years. She helped support many people.
In about 4000 B.C., the eastern part of the United States had a climate
change. Many river valleys developed and the earth became rich,
producing plants and trees in abundance. Shoals and lakes developed. The
abundance of wild animals and fish led people to be more permanent to
just one area.
Permanent settlements started with just a few families or more. These
people experimented with plant domestication. The women collected seeds,
plants and whatever might be considered as a food or medicine. For
thousands of years the women passed on their knowledge to their
daughters, each generation learning more about plants.
For many generations, nut trees were studied. Which nuts were good to
eat? How should they be prepared? Which could be used for dyes or
medicine? Which had to be soaked in water to remove the bitter taste?
These were all questions that in time would be answered, but much
experimentation was done to find the answers.
With permanent settlements, the Indian women could plant seeds and be
able to harvest the bounty of their work. Sunflowers and summer squash
were a few of the women’s early successes.
The tribe’s garden area was moved when the earth did not produce a good
crop. Thus the beginning of crop rotation was developed. Indian women
learned how to preserve food and how to keep seeds gathered in the fall
from spoiling over the winter months.
The eastern woodland tribes built large earthworks and buried their dead
in conical mounds. The Hopewell became the first North American
Pan-Indian religion, from the Mississippi River to Minnesota and from
Missouri to West Virginia. For the first time people sharing neither
language nor culture were drawn together by a set of beliefs and
symbols.
The Hopewell people produced a great variety of locally cultivated and
domesticated foods long before corn arrived about 100 A.D. or so. Maize
and beans came to the Eastern states at different times compared to the
Western states.
Hopewell habitation sites remained small, generally one to three
families living along streams and river valleys. As Hopewell societies
began to increase the boundaries of their river valley fields, small
farming settlements developed.
The development ceremonial sites were various rites of social
integration. Today the only visible clue to the location of some of
these sites is the low earthen domes that were built up over the graves
of revered people.
The city of Grand Rapids is home to a few of these mounds, located along
the banks of the Grand River.
Bill Burr is a freelance writer who lives near Langston. His e-mail
address is williamburr@netpenny.net.
By Bill Burr - Jacks and River Hogs
Who was the first to disturb the soil and plant seeds in it?
Who was America’s first geneticist?
America’s first farmers were American Indian women. They domesticated
the plants of the eastern woodlands.
The Indian women were the ones who retained the botanical information.
They knew which plants made the best clothing, which plants were safe to
eat, which plants to make dye from, which plants could be made into rope
and many more things plants could be used for.
They knew which leaves, bark, roots, stems and berries could cure
disease and help heal wounds.
Through history, it would be the Indian women who would plant the seeds
and tend the tribe’s garden, for there was no such thing as a one-family
garden. Everything done by men or women was done for the good of the
tribe. When a hunter came back to camp with game, it was shared by all.
The Indian women harnessed the potential of domesticated plants for
thousands of years. She helped support many people.
In about 4000 B.C., the eastern part of the United States had a climate
change. Many river valleys developed and the earth became rich,
producing plants and trees in abundance. Shoals and lakes developed. The
abundance of wild animals and fish led people to be more permanent to
just one area.
Permanent settlements started with just a few families or more. These
people experimented with plant domestication. The women collected seeds,
plants and whatever might be considered as a food or medicine. For
thousands of years the women passed on their knowledge to their
daughters, each generation learning more about plants.
For many generations, nut trees were studied. Which nuts were good to
eat? How should they be prepared? Which could be used for dyes or
medicine? Which had to be soaked in water to remove the bitter taste?
These were all questions that in time would be answered, but much
experimentation was done to find the answers.
With permanent settlements, the Indian women could plant seeds and be
able to harvest the bounty of their work. Sunflowers and summer squash
were a few of the women’s early successes.
The tribe’s garden area was moved when the earth did not produce a good
crop. Thus the beginning of crop rotation was developed. Indian women
learned how to preserve food and how to keep seeds gathered in the fall
from spoiling over the winter months.
The eastern woodland tribes built large earthworks and buried their dead
in conical mounds. The Hopewell became the first North American
Pan-Indian religion, from the Mississippi River to Minnesota and from
Missouri to West Virginia. For the first time people sharing neither
language nor culture were drawn together by a set of beliefs and
symbols.
The Hopewell people produced a great variety of locally cultivated and
domesticated foods long before corn arrived about 100 A.D. or so. Maize
and beans came to the Eastern states at different times compared to the
Western states.
Hopewell habitation sites remained small, generally one to three
families living along streams and river valleys. As Hopewell societies
began to increase the boundaries of their river valley fields, small
farming settlements developed.
The development ceremonial sites were various rites of social
integration. Today the only visible clue to the location of some of
these sites is the low earthen domes that were built up over the graves
of revered people.
The city of Grand Rapids is home to a few of these mounds, located along
the banks of the Grand River.
Bill Burr is a freelance writer who lives near Langston. His e-mail
address is williamburr@netpenny.net.