Booming Agriculture Mesopotamia, Gold Rush, and Potato Plant

The historical land of Mesopotamia significantly contributed to early civilization in relation to its close proximity to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and rich fertile land it provided. The rivers offered the people of Mesopotamia fertile soil, irrigation water for crops and fishing, and also supplied an abundance of wild barley and wheat for food or could stored as a food supply. The first settlers of Mesopotamia learned to cultivate and harvest crops, which would provide a bountiful supply for food. This enabled the people to settle and create villages, which eventually led to larger communities and cities. People no longer had to move throughout the land hunting animals in order to feed but instead could live off the land and in†¦show more content†¦Though many centuries have past and the people of Mesopotamia are long gone, the civilized world continues to build from the adaptation of their systematical way of life. B. The Potato plant can be traced back many centuries and is thought to have originated in South Americas. The Incas in Peru were the first known to farm the potato. The Incas had learned to preserve the potato for storage by dehydrating and mashing potatoes into a substance called chuà ±u. Chuà ±u could be stored in a room for up to 10 years, providing excellent insurance against possible crop failures. (Chapman, n.d.). The popularity of this plant may be related to its relatively low maintenance in planted and growing. It also provides a good source of nutrition. The seeds or tubers of the potato plant are easily planted and or can be stored for use at another time. This provided farmers the ease or regrowth when potatoes supplies would begin to diminish. There are thousands of varieties of potatoes, which today can be found all across the world. In the 16th century, the Spanish Conquistadors brought the Potato back with them to Spain after their voyage to South America. In Spain it grew slowly in popularity and it was not long before the Potato made its way across Europe. Europeans also gradually gained acceptance of the Potato plant, as it was a good source of food and growing the plant was relatively low maintenance. As Potatoes spread across Europe, they eventually made their way