In article ,
David Hill wrote:
On 30/06/2014 13:13, Janet wrote:

In this country, hunter-gathering (found food) preceded agriculture
(the clearing of forest to create grazing, breeding/tending livestock,
cultivating soil to grow crops).

What country are you talking about?
Slash and burn was not a common practice in Europe as it is a method
used mainly by nomadic people who move on every 2 or 3 years.

She didn't mention that.

In the UK forests were not cleared for agriculture, it was the need for
Oak for sailing ships from the 16th century onwards.

That is erroneous - see Rackham and many others. Most were cleared
by the neolithic farmers, when agriculture was introduced. Until
c. 3,000 BC, only a VERY few areas of the UK weren't forested, and
most of those were and are unsuitable for agriculture.

Forests were about the only source of fuel that people had.

Er, no. Shrubs, reeds etc. all make good fuel. As do reasonably
dry peat and herbivore dung.

for thousands of years people just gathered the seeds of wild grass,
then some started to make holes on the ground and to drop a few grass
seeds in so that they didn't have to search so far to find the seeds
they needed.

There is no evidence for that, and it is VERY dubious (for grasses,
anyway). They do not establish well like that, and a few plants
aren't any use. It is possible that is how farming started, but
it won't have been grasses.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
says...

In article ,
David Hill wrote:
On 30/06/2014 13:13, Janet wrote:

In this country, hunter-gathering (found food) preceded agriculture
(the clearing of forest to create grazing, breeding/tending livestock,
cultivating soil to grow crops).

What country are you talking about?

Britain; this is a UK group.

See Nick's replies.

Slash and burn was not a common practice in Europe as it is a method
used mainly by nomadic people who move on every 2 or 3 years.

She didn't mention that.

In the UK forests were not cleared for agriculture, it was the need for
Oak for sailing ships from the 16th century onwards.

That is erroneous - see Rackham and many others. Most were cleared
by the neolithic farmers, when agriculture was introduced. Until
c. 3,000 BC, only a VERY few areas of the UK weren't forested, and
most of those were and are unsuitable for agriculture.

Forests were about the only source of fuel that people had.

Er, no. Shrubs, reeds etc. all make good fuel. As do reasonably
dry peat and herbivore dung.

for thousands of years people just gathered the seeds of wild grass,
then some started to make holes on the ground and to drop a few grass
seeds in so that they didn't have to search so far to find the seeds
they needed.

There is no evidence for that, and it is VERY dubious (for grasses,
anyway). They do not establish well like that, and a few plants
aren't any use. It is possible that is how farming started, but
it won't have been grasses.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.