Domestication of Plants and Animals in Ethiopia Essay

Domestication of Plants and Animals in Ethiopia - Essay Example The area currently referred to as Ethiopia is believed to be among the earliest hosts of economically centered societies. The oldest evidence of hominids comes from this area, suggesting that the time was available to develop such systems. However, as history passed, people were amassing in Ethiopia in parallel to birthing civilizations elsewhere in the world. Consequently, the evolution of domesticating techniques does not have a clear starting point. In Ethiopia, and most other candidate areas for the "cradle of civilization", it is estimated that animals were domesticated first over a period that may range from near 10,000 BC to 3,000 BC. Plant cultivation of this form then became prominent in the period encompassing about 3,000 BC to 2,000 BC. Cattle were among the earliest domestic animals, due to their appeal as a source of meat. Goats provided milk, sheep gave wool, and stronger animals like donkeys and oxen provided transportation, as well as brute force. A wide variety of beasts would eventually be harnessed for human benefit, largely thanks to the presence of many local animal species (Milkias n.p.). The early use of animal labor and the subsequent emergence of domestication is theorized to have played a considerable role in the development of agricultural centers in Ethiopia and other early societies (such as those in the Fertile Crescent). Animals bred for the benefit of humans helped to produce the resource surpluses that drew most people to a limited number of areas, ultimately producing the framework of economies and civilization itself. If animals raised for humanity laid the foundation for social development, then plants, appropriately, allowed civilization to bloom. As early as the 30th century BC, plant domestication became an immediately dominant force in the propagation of Ethiopian communities. At least thirty-six different plant species became the first plants in the area to be grown under control for the traits that most benefit