Continental environments played a large role in shaping the emergence of complex human societies because of how well they provided the best conditions for crops and what animals lived there, either wild or those that could be that could be domesticated, (Diamond). These animals were first the target of hunter/gatherer tribes, who also collected local plants for food. Animals provided high-quality protein for the diet, transportation, and energy for work, as well as hides for clothing. Eurasia had the largest supply of herbivorous mammals that could be domesticated, such as sheep, goats, cows, pigs, and horses. Africa had the buffalo, and zebras, but zebras are mean-tempered and hard to catch, and African buffaloes canÆt be domesticated. South America had only the llama.
The shifting from hunting to farming came slowly (Diamond). At first the gatherers took note of plants which were good for eating. Then they began to return to areas where these plants were plentiful., and then permanent settlements arose near these supplies of plants. The people began to tend the plants and then to grow them, and so became farmers. Areas around the Tigris-Euphrates Valley in Southwest Asia were reportedly rich in the right wild varieties of wheat and barley. A trait that suits a grass species for domestication is the heaviness of its seed, and 32 of the worldÆs 56 heaviest seeded grass plants are native to Southwest Asia. Only four are found in SubSaharan Africa and eleven in all of the Americas. Farming was not as easy back then before plant genetics were understood s took time to develop. Cultures also had to develop the technology to weave baskets for gathering grains and other crops, make mortars and pestles to grind the grain, and scythes to reap the crops. As the supply of game in an area ran out, they needed other sources of food and farming supplied this.
The fertile crescent of the Middle east was suited to crop f...