Agrarian Societies

The following describes the rise of agrarian societies, their dominant characteristics, the challenges they have faced in their development, and modern offshoots of early agrarian communities. The social organization of agrarian civilization is generally marked by organized communities and clear distinctions in gender, class, and status. These social characteristics that developed as agrarian societies flourished continue to shape our modern culture, and this article will explain this phenomenon. Agrarian societies introduced the concept of landownership, which had a profound impact on the distribution of wealth and power. In addition, agrarian societies frequently supplement their economic means through the creation and distribution of handmade products, goods, and even services. Although agrarian societies were often stable enough to develop into economically viable communities, the process of domesticating, cultivating, and harvesting plants is extremely labor intensive. Thus, agrarian societies turned to the development of technology, crafts, and skills to ease the workload and to generate supplemental income. Finally, this article discusses some of the ways that agrarian societies interact with the world around them, such as the depletion of soil minerals, the alteration of plant species through artificial selection, and the contamination of natural resources through overuse of pesticides.

Keywords Agrarian Society; Agribusiness; Agriculture; Arable Land; Cash Crop; Chaff; Collective Farming; Cooperative Farming; Crop Rotation; Farm; Fertilizer; Grafting; Intercropping; Irrigation; Organic Farming; Pesticides; Slash & Burn

Agrarian Societies

Overview

Agrarian societies are distinguished by plant domestication and cultivation, trade, and wealth accumulation. Plant cultivation involves the process of planting, tending and harvesting crops, and retaining the seeds from these crops for further planting, tending, and harvesting. This cycle is repeated season after season, year after year, resulting in a society that has deep roots in its environment and the natural resources of the region in which it is situated.

Although wild plants can be domesticated and cultivated, certain characteristics may be bred out of or into wild plants through a process of artificial selection to make these plants more suitable for human use and consumption. Thus, domesticated plants are those that contain attributes which have been created or altered through human means to make them more suitable for human use. For instance, edible plants may be bred for higher yields or better tasting produce. Plants may also be cultivated to restore nutrients to soil or as feed for cattle or herds. Certain plants may also be domesticated for medicinal or therapeutic means. Thus, agrarian societies have an intimate understanding of the plant life cycle and the natural resources that can be extracted from the regions in which they live.

Rise of Agrarian Societies

Although agrarian societies have been replaced in many regions of the world by urban, industrialized societies, when they first evolved they marked a distinct shift from earlier societies that were predominantly foraging or hunting and gathering communities. Agrarian societies differed from these earlier civilizations primarily in terms of their practice of settling into a permanent location and intensively working the land and natural resources of that region. The following sections will describe the characteristics of agrarian societies, the challenges they face, and the remnants of ancient agrarian societies in the modern era.

Characteristics of Agrarian Societies

One characteristic that distinguishes agrarian societies from foraging and hunting and gathering societies is sedentism, or the practice of living permanently in one place. Early human societies were primarily foragers, hunters and gatherers, or pastoralists, and as such these societies roamed large tracts of land in search of food or grazing regions. In contrast, agrarian societies do not move. Instead, they settle into permanent homes and cultivate their fields so that they can raise crops year after year. This permanence results in very intensive exploitation of small tracts of land as opposed to the more spread out use of land done by hunter-gatherers.

Cultivation of land through the plow enabled the people to make a great leap forward in food production. It brought the soil's nutrients to the surface, and, coupled with animal labor to pull it, this early machine greatly increased the productivity of both labor and the land. Combining irrigation techniques with the use of the plow also increased the productivity and the crop yield by allowing formerly fallow land to be cultivated.

In addition to cultivation and increased productivity, agrarian societies also implemented a concept a landownership. Instead of basing wealth on the size of their herds of cattle or flocks of sheep, agrarian societies began to mark the land that they owned and that they alone could exploit. Landownership eventually led to major differences in social classes as distinctions were made between those who owned land and those who worked land owned by someone else.

Over time, agrarian societies also led to the establishment of more elaborate political institutions like formalized government bureaucracies that were assisted by a legal systems and economic institutions (Kennett, 2006). As individual wealth grew and trade became more elaborate, money was introduced as a medium of exchange. This led to the development and maintenance of records of transactions, crop harvests, taxation systems, and governmental rules and regulations. In addition, agrarian societies supported the emergence of arts and cultural artifacts, since with surplus food production people can divert their attention to recreational activities. Ultimately, agrarian societies became increasingly urban and diverse as population size increased, cities appeared, new government systems emerged, and trade and culture expanded.

Challenges Agrarian Societies Face

Agrarian societies face several challenges, all largely corollary effects of the dominant characteristics of agriculture and land cultivation. An agricultural base results in human dependence on a small amount of plants and crops; this is in contrast to the vast amount of plants utilized by hunter-gatherers. This dependence in turn makes agrarian societies dependent on the weather since a successful harvest requires a climate that is hospitable to the particular crops planted. Weather patterns, however, constantly fluctuate and rainfall can vary unpredictably. A drought or flood can cause an agrarian society to starve, while hunter-gatherer societies, which collect food from many different plant species, can more easily adapt to and survive harsh weather (The Agriculture Revolution . 1996). It is easy to see how early agrarian’s were substantially more vulnerable to the weather than hunter-gatherer societies.

In addition, agrarian societies have to gather all their food for the year at a few harvest times, rather than year round. If unfavorable weather, natural disasters, or any other event prohibits harvesting efforts, the entire crop for that season is lost. Under this kind of pressure, agrarian societies are more time-conscious than hunter-gatherer societies. Even after crops have been harvested, agriculturalists also have to store the harvest for the rest of the year; protect it from moisture, pests, parasites, and thieves; and ration it so that they can survive and have seed for next year's planting. Thus, agrarian societies are again markedly different from hunting and gathering societies in which meat and berries generally have to be consumed immediately to prevent spoilage (Law, The Agriculture Revolution, 1996).

Finally, agrarian societies require intense and sustained physical effort throughout the year. Whether sowing, plowing, or harvesting fields, men, women, and animals labor side by side to cultivate sufficient crops for their families, livestock, and trade. However, despite all of this labor, crops can still be destroyed by insects or inclement weather, meaning that months of back-breaking work can be destroyed within a few days.

Modern Agrarian Societies

Despite the rapid spread and growth of industrialization over the past two centuries, less than a quarter of the world's population lives in societies that can be considered fully industrialized. Many regions in the world are still marked by predominantly agricultural societies, although many of these communities are slowly becoming industrialized. Industrialized agrarian societies are found in most of Latin America, southern and eastern Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa, as well as parts of southern and eastern Europe. Although different in many ways, all of these societies contain elements of agrarian and industrial practices. Approximately 70% of the world's population lives in these societies (Law, The Agriculture Revolution, 1996).

These societies have been struggling with problems that often threaten to overwhelm them. Despite partial industrialization, many of their citizens are still as poor as the lower classes of traditional agricultural societies were. At the same time, improved education and exposure to Western mass media have raised their hopes and given them an awareness of the possibility of a better life.

Social Organization

The social organization of the agricultural states consists of extended families and other descent groups, including lineages, clans, and kindred families. Marriages are generally arranged and involve dowries. Monogamy is the norm.

Agrarian societies are generally strongly patriarchal, possibly because of the reduced participation of females in agricultural labor. Females are instead largely confined to the domestic sphere and may be secluded from public life. Social stratification is based on class, caste, slavery, and racial and ethnic stratification. Formalized legal systems regulate these societies, although mediation and self-help are available to citizens as well. The following sections will describe these concepts in more detail.

Organized Communities

The creation of settled agricultural villages made it possible to accumulate stored food and other forms of wealth, commodities which are necessary for the advancement of cultures. In order to stop theft of such valuables, agrarian societies must create systems of buildings, storage facilities, and other measures to store and protect surpluses and other vulnerable forms of wealth. However, this increase in wealth can also lead to class disparities and social unrest, which can, in turn, threaten the emerging organized communities.

Further, as specializations emerge in the economy, inequalities of wealth and status grow wider. This distance is exacerbated as the wealthy can choose to live private, as opposed to communal lives, and can accumulate further wealth and power by acquiring material objects, tools, resources, and knowledge. The main problems encountered by the early agriculturalists—weather vulnerability, environmental depletion, overpopulation, disease vulnerability, and the need for security from theft and vandalism—still remain significant concerns in modern, urban societies.

Gender & Status in Agrarian Societies

Early agrarian societies generally divided tasks along gender lines, assigning most hunting to males and most food gathering tasks to females. As such, women made important contributions in the development of food gathering, preparation, and preservation techniques. However, agrarian societies tend to be patriarchal in that women are less likely to own land or to be solely responsible for overseeing the use and cultivation of land parcels.

In addition, agrarian societies tend to emphasize ascribed statuses, such as clan affiliation, age, and arranged marriages based upon wealth, power, or political purposes. In contrast, for instance, modern capitalistic societies tend to focus on achieved statuses, such as educational degrees, occupation, or chosen marriages. Because agrarian societies are labor intensive and often economically dependent on external factors such as the climate and infestation of pests or insects, these societies are typically closely knit. As a result, deviations from customary gender and behavioral patterns are less common than in highly individualistic, urban societies.

Effect of Agrarian Societies on Human Development

In early hunter-gatherer societies, cultural change occurred imperceptibly slowly. With rising populations and new ideas and techniques, however, the pace of change accelerated considerably.

From the earliest human beginnings to the rise of the first civilization, there are two world-wide sweeping developments to be seen. The first great global event was the peopling of the earth by hunting, foraging, or fishing societies in Africa, Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas.

Second, the agricultural revolution radically changed how humans lived, interacted with one another, and coalesced into organized communities. With the development of plant cultivation and agrarian societies, humans learned how to improve their productivity by growing crops, domesticating plants, and raising animals. As the agricultural revolution spread around the world, the human population began to soar. Innovation opportunities compounded with increasing contact over distances and cultural boundaries. Over time, social, political, and economic systems were developed and implemented. In effect, they laid the groundwork for the modern, urban, industrial societies of today.

Economy

The transition from foraging or hunting and gathering societies to agricultural life required a great deal of labor and was often difficult. Once established, however, the agricultural system could support larger and more complex societies than hunter-gatherer societies. As agrarian societies formed, economic systems developed that enabled the first known patterns of land ownership. In addition, agrarian societies developed methods for sharing food and trading harvested crops in exchange for other food products, goods, and even services.

Ownership of Land

Agrarian societies were marked by a rise in landownership. Previously, other societies had primarily viewed land as communal property that was used according to season and need. Land could be entered if it offered grazing pastures or pools of water for herds or flocks, or was populated by animals that could be trapped and killed for meat. When the land was no longer useful because of overgrazing, drought, or seasonal changes, early nomadic peoples would simple leave the land in search of better pastures (Pryor, 2005).

In contrast, agrarian societies developed the concept of landownership. Initially land was owned by the community or a clan, rather than by individuals themselves. Small family groups would live together on marked areas of land so that, together, they would have the sufficient labor and resources to cultivate the land. Landownership enabled these groups to make more varied use of the land, as they could make unique decisions about what crops to grow and how to maximize their use of the land. In addition, landownership introduced a higher standard of living, as land could be bought, sold, or transferred to create wealth.

Distribution of Goods & Services

Agrarian societies created the means for the effective distribution of goods and services. This distribution primarily consists of food sharing, by which groups of individual farmers can trade, share, or sell portions of harvests among themselves to enhance the variety of their diets and to obtain the necessary foodstuffs and resources to support their families. Food sharing is also important during droughts or seasons of lean harvests to avert starvation (Pryor, 2005).

In addition to food sharing, agricultural products and even labor are exchanged for tools, household goods, or income. Since agrarian societies tend to live in close-knit communities where neighboring families or clans are within reasonable distances of one another, farmers can exchange food items or assist one another in harvesting crops or other tasks. These interactions further deepened the relationships among agrarian societies and helped usher in the early concepts of living in organized, communal settings.

Development of Class Systems & Wealth Inequities

Agriculturalists must often perform extensive work in order to prepare their land for crops, to plant and tend crops, and to harvest, process, and store the yields. However, this work can be distributed, and this separation of work performance from profit procurement leads to the separation of classes. For instance, within an agrarian society a person with wealth can purchase land, and then pay laborers to plant and harvest the crop while still enjoying the profits from the sale or trade of the produce. Even further, slaves and forced labor give landowners access to cheap labor, enabling them to purchase and cultivate even larger areas of land and further increase their harvests and profits.

Because wealth is generally passed down along family lines in agrarian societies, the inequities in wealth distribution tend to be retained through the generations. Laborers can seldom pool enough resources to rise to the status of landowners, and landowners often have the means to ensure the perpetuation of their own economic and political power. Thus, agrarian societies are often marked by wealth inequities among the various classes.

Labor

Agrarian societies are labor intensive. Preparing the land for plant cultivation, and then planting, tending, and harvesting crops requires tremendous physical labor. As a result, agrarian societies developed techniques that enabled them to harvest, store, and process their crops with optimal efficiency. In addition, the introduction of technology, crafts, and skills vastly improved the quality of life within these societies.

Technology

When a society becomes sedentary, it has, for the first time, a reason to devote a considerable amount of effort to building permanent dwellings. Accordingly, almost immediately after agrarian societies settle into permanent locations, they construct permanent dwellings made primarily of local building materials. This new quality of life encourages the expansion of technology, because specialization becomes possible for the first time. Individuals with particular skills are able to develop the tools and skills necessary to improve their work. These tools represent the early forms of technology that are later developed into more advanced forms like machinery (Kennett, 2006).

Pioneer farmers used techniques and tools—such as the stone axe, the hoe and sickle, and the mortar and pestle—that had long been familiar to hunter-gatherers. However, agrarian societies developed these and other tools into more advanced equipment that enabled them to grow, harvest, and mill and store greater quantities of seeds and ground food products.

Further, the invention of the plow allowed these societies to work much more efficiently. The plow also marked the beginning of the use of alternative sources of power (animal power in this case) in place of human power. The plow and other forms of machinery enabled agrarian societies to greatly increase the amount of land they cultivated, which in turn yielded larger harvests that would support greater human populations.

Harvesting Crops

Most agrarian societies quite naturally worshipped the crops they planted as symbols of life itself; grain and crops truly meant the difference between life and death for individuals and society as a whole.

There are only short windows of time during which grain can be planted and harvested each year. During a harvest, inopportune wet weather can ruin the entire crop, and disruptions in social life that prevent planning or harvesting can lead to widespread famine. Crop storage after harvest is also of concern, as the grain must be protected against getting wet, being eaten by animals, and mold and fungi. The grain must also be protected against thievery.

Humans are not well suited to consuming unprocessed grain. In order to alleviate this problem, the creation of cultural or technical solutions was required; grain processing techniques were required. An early, widespread method of preparing grain included milling the seeds between stones and then boiling the fine grain in water. This creates a paste or gruel that is suitable for consumption. Through trial and error, early agrarians found that by baking the paste of grain and water, bread would result. Other early creations included beer from fermented seeds.

Crafts & Skills

Another advantage of sedentary life is the capacity to develop household objects and small tools that are suited for many common uses. Hunter-gatherer societies have little use for pottery or other household items that can be heavy or break during moves. Agrarian societies, in contrast, had several uses for items like pottery. All over the globe, the archeological remains of human communities indicate that crafts and skills blossomed almost as soon as human societies began settling down.

For instance, a basic potter’s wheel allowed early societies to produce large quantities of pottery at once. In addition, early baking-ovens developed into high-temperature kilns that were used for firing pottery, a method that resulted in harder, more durable products. Further, the development of techniques for turning plant and animal fibers into cloth greatly improved the quality of human life. Weaving allowed for the development of softer fabrics for clothing and bedding (Kennett, 2006).

Over time, many crafts and skills were developed, and those who mastered these techniques could often supplement their crop incomes by selling handmade crafts and household goods. This led to a higher standard of living, not only for the individuals who profited from the sales of their goods, but also for those who purchased these goods and resources, as they made their labor more productive.

Applications

Agrarian societies have a deep relationship with their natural environment. To thrive, farmers and agriculturalists must learn how to manage the land to facilitate the cultivation of domesticated plants while also preserving enough of natural resources to enable the land to remain fertile and useful. While the development of agriculture helped human populations and social systems to increase and become more complex, it also had corollary effects on the environment. Some of these effects proved to be harmful, such as soil erosion and the depletion of healthy grasslands from overgrazing by cattle and herds. However, agrarian societies were able to greatly enhance the range and diversity of their diets by cultivating new crops with various plant domestication and artificial selection techniques. These crops were often cared for with pesticides which, in various in forms, have been used for centuries. However, agrarian societies have also had to contend with the risks of contamination through the overuse of pesticides, and, as a consequence, have developed alternatives to facilitate crop productivity.

Agrarian Societies & the Environment

In contrast to hunting and gathering societies, agrarian societies modify their environments in order to more efficiently exploit them. Crop growing is meant to increase a farmer's the quantity of food, however one side effect of cultivation is the depletion of nutrients within the soil, which, after extended periods, can make the land unsuitable for any type of growing.

Additionally, by engaging in agriculture, farmers consciously alter their environments by "selecting for" the plants they need for food or fiber. Unwittingly, they are also "selecting for" any organism that can live on wheat, such as pests or pathogens. Thus, paradoxically, by increasing their food supply, farmers simultaneously increased the threats to their food supply (Diamond, The Spread of Agriculture, 2003).

Agriculture can degrade soil in other ways. Erosion is of concern as digging and plowing soil leads to wind and water exposure.

Finally, overgrazing by domestic animals can also degrade the environment. In semi-arid areas, too much grazing can be extremely harmful; taking marginally fertile lands and turning them into desert. It is alarming to note that many of the current deserts in the world were induced by overgrazing.

Domesticating Plant Life

Agrarian societies are almost totally reliant upon domesticated plants and animals. These domesticated plants and animals are largely the product of artificial selection by humans, and their reproduction and subsistence are managed directly by humans. For plants, such management almost always involves an investment in seed selection: clearing, systematic soil tillage, weeding, fertilization, crop maintenance, and the development of a supportive infrastructure of irrigation canals, processing facilities, and storage bins (Kennett, 2006).

In addition, domesticating plant life involves modifying the soil texture and fertility through plowing, fertilizing, and crop rotation. Another aspect of domestication is the creation of new plant species through cross-fertilization with wild or other domestic plant species. Artificial selection allows for the emergence of plant species with ideal characteristics, such as improved taste, the ability to withstand insects, or traits that ease processing and consumption like thinner seed coats and larger fruits and vegetables. Plant cultivation allows agrarian societies to develop plants and produce that have higher yields and are to tend and cultivate. Better crops, in turn, enable farmers to sell and trade their excess harvests for profit, giving them a higher standard of living and the resources to investment in tools, equipment, and fertilizers that will continue to enhance plant yields.

Rise in Use of Pesticides

Pesticides are used widely to control insects, weeds, and fungi that might otherwise destroy a large part of the world's food crops. Pests include insects, plant pathogens, weeds, birds, mammals, worms, and microbes which can destroy crops and agricultural lands, spread disease, and adversely affect the plant cultivation process. Farmers apply pesticides to the soil and plants themselves to kill or thwart these pests.

Although pesticides have many benefits, they also have drawbacks, such as their potential toxicity to humans and other animals. Occupational or accidental exposure to toxic levels of pesticides can acutely poison humans. Additionally, pesticide drift, which occurs when pesticides reach a destination other than their target species, can seriously endanger humans and animals. This can happen when pesticides in the water or air are carried by streams or the wind to areas where they were not applied and pool until they reach toxic levels, contaminating the natural resources in these regions and posing a hazard to humans and animals.

To combat these effects, many agrarian societies that use pesticides have also developed other means to combat pests. These pesticide alternatives include crop rotation, artificial plant selection, diversifying the methods of cultivation, using of other organisms to kill pests, and impeding insect breeding.

Conclusion

Agrarian societies are generally marked by organized communities and clear distinctions in gender, class and status. Agrarian societies introduced the concept of landownership, which had a profound impact on the distribution of wealth and power. In addition, these societies frequently supplement their economic means through the creation and distribution of handmade products, goods, and even services. Although agrarian societies are often stable enough to develop into economically viable communities, the process of domesticating, cultivating, and harvesting plants is extremely labor intensive. Thus, agrarian societies use technology, crafts, and skills to ease the workload and generate supplemental income. Intensive agriculture, while increasing a society's resources, can also pose problems like soil depletion, and the contamination of natural resources through the overuse of pesticides.

Terms & Concepts

Agrarian Society: A society that relies on agriculture as its prime mean of support and sustenance.

Agribusiness: A broad concept used to describe corporate agricultural enterprises individually and collectively.

Agriculture: The science of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock.

Arable Land: Land that can be used for growing crops.

Cash Crop: A crop that is grown for money. The term is used to differentiate between crops that are grown for profit and those that are used to feed livestock or the producer's family, or subsidence crops.

Chaff: The seed casings and other inedible plant matter harvested with cereal grains such as wheat.

Collective Farming: Type of agricultural method in which laborers are given shares in the net output of the farm in the place of payment.

Cooperative Farming: A centuries-old practice in which farmers pool their resources to create markets and manage costs for supplies and services.

Crop Rotation: A farming practice in which a piece of land is planted with different crops on a regular schedule in order to reduce plant diseases and increase yields and the soil nutrients and yields.

Farm: An area of land used primarily for agricultural production which includes buildings and a primary home.

Fertilizer: A substance applied to soil to enhance its ability to produce plentiful, healthy plants.

Grafting: The fusing of the tissues from one plant to that of another in order to encourage propagation.

Intercropping: A strategy in which multiple crops are simultaneously grown on the same plot of land .

Irrigation: The supplying of water to soil in order to grow crops.

Organic Farming: Farming that does not utilize synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.

Pesticides: Man-made chemicals that are used to kill pests such as insects and rodents.

Slash & Burn: A technique in which forests are deliberately burnt to clear land for farming.

Bibliography

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Clark, J. (2005). The agrarian male: Economic and ecological challenges in the new century. Journal of Men's Studies, 13 , 369-388. Retrieved April 14, 2008 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=16829483&site=ehost-live

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Kennett, D., & Winterhalder, B. (Eds.). (2006). Behavioral ecology and the transition to agriculture . Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, Ltd.

McMichael, P. (2012). Food regime crisis and revaluing the agrarian question. Research in Rural Sociology & Development, 99–122. Retrieved October 23, 2013 from EBSCO online database, SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=74477740&site=ehost-live

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Pryor, F. (2005). Economic systems of foraging, agricultural and industrial societies . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

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Stone, G. (1991). Agricultural territories in a dispersed settlement system. Current Anthropology, 32 , 343-353. Retrieved April 14, 2008 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9107011715&site=ehost-live

Tudge, C. (2005). What matters more than anything else is agriculture. New Statesman, 134 (4748), 20-21. Retrieved April 14, 2008 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=17527766&site=ehost-live

Von Sivers, P. (2012). Patterns of world history. New York: Oxford University Press.

Suggested Reading

Akram-Lodhi, A. (2004). Are 'landlords taking back the land'? An essay on the agrarian transition in Vietnam. European Journal of Development Research, 16 , 757-789. Retrieved April 14, 2008 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=15740595&site=ehost-live

Cardwell, V. (2005). Literacy: What level for food, land, natural resources, and environment? Journal of Natural Resources & Life Sciences Education, 34 , 112-117. Retrieved April 14, 2008 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=19803470&site=ehost-live

Hanjra, M.A. (2013). Global food security: Emerging issues and economic implications. Hauppauge, NY: Nova.

Hunt, J. (2006). Prospering in America rural governance. Nation's Cities Weekly, 29 , 2-12. Retrieved April 14, 2008 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=20395071&site=ehost-live