The Origins of Agriculture

In Mesoamerica, around modern-day Mexico, about 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, the wild grass Tiosente was selectively bred. The Americans didn't have large seed grains like wheat that could be domesticated. Further south, the earliest known evidence of agriculture was discovered in modern-day Colombia and Ecuador. In Papua New Guinea, banana, root vegetables, and sugar cane may have been cultivated as early as 8,000 years old. And in the Andes mountains, about 8k years ago, potatoes were also domesticated.

Play episode from 05:13

Transcript

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!

Get the app