Where Did Agriculture Originate in Asia, Africa, and the Americas?

Farming arose independently in several "hearths" across these continents, each domesticating local staple crops.

Asia

• Fertile Crescent (Near East): ~10,000 BC. Wheat, barley, lentils, peas, flax. Note: Geographically Western Asia.
• Indus Valley (Pakistan/NW India): ~7000–4500 BC. Wheat, barley, cotton, sesame, dates.
• China (Yellow & Yangtze Rivers): ~7000–5000 BC. Millet (north), rice (south), soy, pigs.
• Southeast Asia (Peninsular/Island): ~4000 BC. Rice, yams, taro, bananas, chickens.

Africa

• Nile Valley (Egypt/Sudan): ~6000–5500 BC. Wheat, barley, flax (diffused from Fertile Crescent).
• Sahel/West Africa: ~3000 BC. Pearl millet, sorghum, African rice, cowpea, cotton.
• Ethiopian Highlands: ~3000 BC. Teff, finger millet, enset, coffee, noog.
• Central/West Africa (Forest margin): ~2500 BC. Yam, oil palm, plantain.
• Southern Africa: ~2000 BC. Sorghum, millet, later maize (introduced).

Americas

• Mesoamerica (Mexico/Central America): ~8000–3500 BC. Maize, beans, squash, chili, avocado, turkey.
• Andes (Peru/Bolivia/Ecuador): ~8000–2500 BC. Potato, quinoa, llama/alpaca, guinea pig, cotton, peanut.
• Eastern North America: ~2500 BC. Sunflower, goosefoot, squash, marsh elder (independent, later supplanted by Mesoamerican trio).
• Amazonia: ~1000 BC (recent evidence suggests earlier). Manioc, sweet potato, peach palm, cacao; managed forest gardens.

Key Insight

Each hearth developed a unique "crop package" suited to its environment. Diffusion, migration, and trade later spread these complexes globally.