Topics 5.1-5.6

Rural Settlement Patterns

The spatial arrangement of homes and farms in agricultural areas.

Clustered Settlement

Homes grouped together, often for defense or shared resources.

Dispersed Settlement

Isolated farms spread across the landscape; common in commercial farming.

Linear Settlement

Buildings arranged along roads, rivers, or valleys.

Metes and Bounds

Land described using natural features and landmarks; irregular shapes.

Township and Range

U.S. land survey system using a grid of townships and sections.

Long Lot Survey

Narrow land parcels stretching back from a river; ensures water access.

Domestication

The process of adapting plants and animals for human use.

Fertile Crescent

Early agricultural hearth in Southwest Asia where wheat and barley were first domesticated.

Other Domestication Hearths

Indus River Valley, Southeast Asia, Central America, China, and Africa.

Columbian Exchange

Transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds after 1492.

Impact of Diffusion

Spread of crops and livestock transformed diets, populations, and landscapes worldwide.

Second Agricultural Revolution

Period of technological advances that increased food production before the Industrial Revolution.

Key Innovations

Crop rotation, mechanization, selective breeding, improved tools.

Population Impact

Better diets, longer life expectancy, and population growth.

Industrial Connection

Increased food supply freed workers for factory jobs.

Green Revolution

Introduction of high-yield seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and mechanization in developing countries.

High-Yield Seeds

Genetically improved crops designed to increase production.

Positive Effects

Reduced famine, increased food supply, improved nutrition.

Negative Effects

Environmental damage, water pollution, soil degradation, increased inequality.

Dependency Issue

Farmers rely on expensive chemicals and seeds.

Subsistence Agriculture

Farming mainly to feed the farmer and family.

Commercial Agriculture

Farming primarily for sale and profit.

Monocropping

Cultivation of a single crop over a large area.

Intensive vs. Extensive Farming

Determined by land cost, labor, technology, and market access.

Bid-Rent Theory

Land closer to markets is more expensive and used more intensively.