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The
scientific studies helps to understand the impact of climatic changes
like greenhouse gases effect and global warming on biological
diversity of species in the past and how they resulted into
improvement of the genetic resources of crop, plants and their wild
relatives upon which human survival depends.
Introduction.
- Wild apple.
- Wild peach.
- Wild plum.
- Wild grapes.
- Wild almond.
The
detailed survey has not been done by professional botanist to find out
deciduous shrubs, wild plants, grasses and etc.
On the
Savannahs came wild animals like Zebu cattle (Bos Indicus), wild sheep
(ovis), wild goat (caprahircus), ibex, deer and many other animals and
their predators followed by man the leading predator of all of them.
Man
then lived by praying animals, gathering wild fruits, vegetables,
tubers, roots etc. By around 9,500 years ago he was able to
domesticate wild animals like cattle (cows and buffaloes), wild sheep
and goat. He started cultivating wild grasses likes wheat and barley
around 9,000 years ago. He also was gathering wild fruits like
zizyphus, rountiflora, date palm, almost simultaneously and grapes.
These three crops were domesticated around latest 8,000 years ago. His
dress consist of leather, soon around 6,000 years ago he was able to
weave cotton for clothing and which started replacing leather. About
9,000 years ago human start cultivation of crops. At the 9,000 years
ago he had already started building houses with mud bricks and
thatched roof consisting of wooden beam, rafters and thatched grasses.
The leather still was used for baskets, cushions, water storage,
containers, bed-mattresses and covers. Some tents of leather were used
before building mud houses. The domestication of crops was in the
following order:
- Millet and sorghum of Africa reached Arabia and
were domesticated there in 4,500 BC.
- It reached eastern coast of Arabia in 3,000 BC
and in Sindh possibly by 2,350-2,000 BC i.e., start of Mohen-jo Daro.
- South Western Quadrant of Asia consisting of
Armenia, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Southern Turkey, Afghanistan and
Baluchistan have been core centuries of most upland cereals and
grasses.
Rajdi in Saurashtra after 2,000
BC wheat and barley disappear and were replaced by Millets namely (Eleusine,
coracana, sorghum and Panicum setaria, summer crop, possibly due to
lack of winter rains). |
