Libro

Farming in the Ancient World
Egypt was said to be the gift of the Nile. Each summer the Nile flooded and provided water to grow crops. For irrigation Egyptians used a device called shaduf. It was a'see-saw' with a leather container at one end, which was filled with water and a counterweight at the other.
When the Nile flooded it also deposited silt over the land near the banks, which made theland very fertile once the water had subsided.
Life in Egypt In contrast farmers in Greece were hampered by rocky soil. Nevertheless they grew barley and wheat. Greek farmers also grew olives(which were part of their staple diet) and they grew vines. Greek farmers also raised goats and sheep.
In France and England the Celts grew crops in rectangular fields. They raised pigs, sheep and cattle.They stored grain in pits lined with stone or wicker and sealed with clay. The Celts also brewed beer from barley.
In Israel farmers grew olives. They also grew crops of flax (for linen), wheat andbarley. The people planted vegetables.
Grapes were also an important crop. So were pomegranates and figs.
Meanwhile shepherds looked after sheep and goats. Farmers also kept oxen and asses. Bothwere used for pulling ploughs. Oxen also threshed grain by walking on it.
The Chinese began farming about 5,000 BC. From about 5,000 BC rice was cultivated in southern China and millet was grown in thenorth. By 5,000 BC dogs and pigs were domesticated. By 3,000 BC sheep and (in the south) cattle were domesticated. Finally horses were introduced into China between 3,000 and 2,300 BC.
Under the HanDynasty agriculture improved partly due to an increasing number of irrigation schemes, partly due to the increasing use of buffaloes to pull ploughs and partly due to crop rotation which wasintroduced into China about 100 BC.
Meanwhile in the Roman Empire most people continued to use the same methods of farming they had employed for centuries. The Romans grew, among other things, wheat,...