Wednesday, 10 May 2017

VIDEO SUMMARY: America Before Colombus

ENVIRONMENTAL SOIL SCIENTIST:


BS16110380 NORSYAHIDATUL FITRI BINTI SABLIE
BS16110581 NADDIA BINTI FUNG AH CHON
BS16110177 IVY JOHVIANI JOHN
BS16110643 ERIC PO WEN KERN

COMMENTATORS:


BS16110645 NG XUN LE
BS16110511 MAR EE-WON
BS16110435 CELINE JIKILIM
BS16110652 GORETTI GOSITIN

6 comments:

  1. Celine Jikilim
    BS16110435
    Europe natural resources are exploited. The Europeans main diet, bread and porridge, made from harvesting grains. Rye or weeds planted on winter, oats or barley in spring. Water and winds hunted to produce higher yield in smaller spaces. The Mississippians farmers planted corn, first man genetic engineering. Corn (hybrids) can grow in cooler climate, result of domestication of wild grass called teosinte. From stalk of corn with time develop into giant corn. A tuber cultivated 8000 years ago in a region around Lake Titicaca in the central Andes called Chuno. Chuno can be stored for 10 years, against possible crop failures. The Inca crops planted on step-like terraces a flat surface to stop the soil eroding. Terraces absorb more sunlight at the highest altitudes. Potatoes can grow by manpower using wooden tools. In Andes, llamas an animal offer dung for the soil. In last Ice Age, the giant bison and the mastodons, fauna of America went extinct and was due to climate became hotter and drier at end of ice age and this killed vegetation as food source for them. New Mexico, one of most arid zones today was known as Chaco Canyon. More than 500 years ago, the Chaco Canyon was covered with lush vegetation and forests of pine and juniper. Juniper and pine was used for as timber, to make fire. Without trees, the forest cannot recover and erosion happened, water drains down, creating gullies on the way. Irrigation and agriculture no longer possible. Woodlands in Chaco Canyon may due to natural climate change caused margin of woodland to move further north and off-site and woods were over-harvested for fuel and timber. Venice city has denuded surrounding forests to build its fleet. The Europeans have exploited their natural resources, leaving continent less and less timber in their forests.

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    1. Well before Industrial Revolution started, we can also pinpoint that the European has actually contribute to Climate Change by making the earth has less carbon sink by all the deforestation and burning of vegetation. Causing many lush land to become desert now after Columbus set feet to America.

      Thank you Celine.

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  2. NG XUN LE
    BS16110645

    Europe is a busy and crowded continent where it consists of a population nearly 1 hundred million people. In order to sustain and assist the continuously expanding population, wide range of natural resources as well as land had been exploited and overused. Most peasants were farmers where they grow rye and wheat in winter while oat and barley during spring. The field fallow regenerate every third year. This shows early cultivation of crops production few hundred years in Europe. Besides, in order to synthesis higher yield in smaller space, they learnt to harness water and wind for power. The big 5 - horses, cows, sheep, pig and cattle masticated the European landscape and overcrowded population. Each of them were useful in particular to provide meat, fur, milk and so on. On the other hand, corn is the native plant for America, not a blessing from the nature or gifts from God but was man's first feed of genetic engineering. Once they (natives) know how to grow corn, they can stay in one place. Potato tubers also became the primary and common source of energy. Both of these were key to flourishing cultures in America before Columbus and crucial to American civilization as wherever it flourishes mean so do great cultures. Besides that, Europe’s lake and rivers were soon become dirty due to sediments from river flow and depleted for overfishing which causes decline in fish yield also led them to set sail to the new world. Christopher Columbus, an explorer, colonizer and navigator which then proposed to Queen Elizabeth to allow him to set sail to look for a new world for more required resources which their current country falling-off. Not long after, introduction of new vegetables and fruits to the new world expanded. They utilised the new broad land for different crops and fruits. Animals such as horses, goat, chicken and pigs were also being brought from Europe to America to supply them food and goods. All in all, it was the transfer of plant and animals from Europe to America which make the creation of new world possible.

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  3. GORETTI GOSITIN
    BS16110652

    Europe is a crowded continent with an ever-growing human population. However, by 1941, the natural resources in that continent were already exploited and they were facing land scarcity. Agricultural revolution allowed Europe’s population to grow with the help of domesticated animals, for instance horses, pigs, cattle, sheeps and goats, which also contributed to the overcrowded condition. When the Europe lost the silk road, foreign trade declined and leads to the desperation of Queen of Spain to find new routes to India. This phenomenon has inspired Christopher Columbus to sail West, into the unknown to arrive in the East – India. He then arrived in America instead. Before Columbus came, America was once a serene world with unbelievable natural wealth and great biodiversity. One of the greatest civilisation in the continent, Cahokia Mounds, build by the Mississippians were very successful. Most of Mississippians are farmers who cultivated corn as key to flourishing cultures in America before Columbus. Corn, their staple food, was an outcome of the first feat of genetic engineering by domesticating the wild teosinte grass. Inka Empire, the largest empire of American civilisation on the other hand is popular with production of potatoes as their main crops to provide energy. Unlike the Europe, America has very little variety of domesticated animals. The main one being llamas, and the secondary meat source is turkeys. During the pre-Columbian era, the native Americans discovered that grass grows better after being burned by lightning strikes, so they began to burn prairies and earth planes themselves and as a result, creating lush grassland and expose the forests for hunting. Another American civilisation by the Anasazi tribe, the Chaco Canyon, was a place covered with vast lush vegetation and forests before 1941, is now a non-productive, non-habitable land. This was due to continuous cutting down of trees coupled with the natural climate change which disabled the forests to recover.

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  5. MAR EE-WON BS16110511

    From the video, I get to know that in Europe, the natural resources were highly exploited because land becomes scarce and overworked. This is due to they have to feed high population of people which is 100 million of them in Europe. They harvest grain, planted rye or wheat during winter and oat and barley during spring as their food resources. They even learnt to harness water and wind for power as it is a good way to harvest yield in small places although it is quite a hard work. With the agriculture revolution, this allows Europe population to grow. Besides, Europe population starts to grow with the aid of very useful element-domesticated animals. The Big 5 which includes horses, sheeps, cattles, goats and pigs domesticate European landscape and these animals made a big contribution to the Europe overcrowded population. Corn, which is an outcome of men first feed of genetic engineering. The cultivation of corn is the key to flourishing culture in the Americas before Columbus. At first, it is barely edible but after years of developing , large and hybrid of corn is formed. Hybrids that can survive through colder climate are also developed. The flourish of corn allows us to understand American civilisation. Whereas in Inka Empire, which is the greatest empire of them all, potatoes are the stable food here. Inka people carve steep-like terraces into mountain-slide to prevent the soil from eroding. This proves Inka people to be very intelligent and creative as terraces maximise sunlight absorption for the crops. Terraces absorb more sunlight than steep slopes. And this allows potatoes to be planted in the highest altitude. This is all achieved by only manpower. Lamar who is the chief source of meat and transport also offers dunk for the soil to be more fertile. Years before Columbus, Native Americans know that the grass can grow better after the lightning strikes and hence, they regularly burn the forest to create grassland, to keep the forest open, and to make hunting easier. The intensive agriculture is actually damaging the fish supply. As people start to grow crops, huge amount of sediments are released into the water. This causes the declined numbers of the population of the fish. The Chaco Canyon was once covered by lush vegetation and forest of pine and Juniper. However, this civilisation has gone as from the analysis of scientist, it may be due to soil cannot recover because of erosion which caused by trees cutting. This has caused a huge impact which irrigation and agriculture are no longer possible. The large population is not able to feed themselves anymore and thus, Chaco Canyon is abandoned. We can conclude from the history is that natural resources play and important role for us human beings, we are depending on them for our survival. Therefore, the awareness of preserving and conserving our nature has to be alarmed to more people.

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