Wild and Wooly Weeds

Prior to about 12,000 years ago we humans had lived lives of hunter-gatherers for some 200,000 years. We roamed the land, selecting what food and shelter Nature offered. We gathered and hunted the provisions we needed. Like most animals, we lived light on the land. Our numbers were few and we moved to new territories, when natural resources became scarce. Mother Nature was in the driver's seat—not us.

The accepted story of human development is that we transitioned very gradually from hunter-gatherers, by first playing a minor role as horticulturists, in the sense of coming to realize that we could encourage plants that we found useful to us, and discourage problematic plants (weeds). The major transition in our culture, however, occurred when we shifted from horticulturalists to farming, about 12,000 years ago—establishing full-fledged agriculture. There is a fine line between cultivation and agriculture... both involve planning, planting, tending, and harvesting. I think an important distinction between them is that cultivation entails working with and encouraging crops, while agriculture is more about controlling Nature.

Thus, authority and power were the role increasingly taken on by humans. That story is being challenged by recent research, which pushes our transition to agriculture at least another ten thousand years or so earlier. One of the most recent findings suggesting that we took up agriculture much earlier comes from archaeological research in Israel, which dates farming to about 23,000 years ago in the Levant. Dating techniques get ever more accurate and increasingly sophisticated analytical techniques are also yielding fascinating results. For example microanalysis of teeth plaque of skeletons reveals their eating habits; chemical analysis of fossilized poop adds to the picture; and soil analysis further broadens our understanding.

What I found captivating about this 23,000-year-old Israeli site analysis is that the researchers found that the same weeds species which plagued farmers back then are still flourishing today in gardens and fields in Israel. Many of the vegetables grown back then are no longer around—having been replaced by newer breeds—but the ancient weeds persist. (In a similar manner, Nature's insects that we consider to be pests persist.) Despite our dislike, Nature assigns a crucial task to weeds: to quickly establish themselves in disturbed soils, so as to curtail erosion. Thus we are being rather self-centered when we condemn weeds as being worthless.

It’s very interesting that Israel's farmers are today fighting battles against the same weeds their deep ancestors did. I can relate to that. Nearly four decades ago we took up residence in a very rural, wooded area in Virginia. We cleared some trees to build a house and plant a garden. Immediately thereafter, new kinds of weeds (that don't grow in the forest) found a haven in our garden. New kinds of insects (that don't grow in the forest) found our luscious vegetables. We have been fending off these weeds and bugs ever since.

I am sure that thousands of years after I’m gone, many of these same weeds and insects will continue to thrive, despite what farmers do to try to control them. They will persist, as long as future farmers continue to offer them good pickings.