47 The domestication and cultivation of cereal plants, the so-called ‘agricultural revolution’, took place at different times in different regions of the world. It was a driving force in the move towards sedentarization: barley, emmer and wheat were cultivated from around 8500 BCE in Egypt and in the Mediterranean; in Southeast Asia, rice was grown from around 8000 BCE; and in the Americas, maize from c. 8000 BCE. As the cultivation of cereals became more widespread, different forms of dependency developed. One was a dependency on these plants themselves: they became the main source of food for expanding societies, but were always subject to environmental influences and other risks. Mass production and the conditions of cultivation and distribution that were associated with it gave rise to social dependencies. Specialized overproduction meant that it was no longer necessary for all population groups to grow their own food. Here lie the origins of specialized crafts and social stratification, and thereby also of asymmetrical dependencies. The cultivation of cereal crops changed access to and ownership of land, as well as the ways in which food was stored and distributed. Densely populated urban societies saw the specialization of entire regions, and increasing trade. This led to the emergence of dependencies on imports, on distribution mechanisms and related contexts (infrastructure), and on the economic and political parameters. Martin Bentz
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