Grade 7 Social Studies RESOURCES AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES – EARLY AGRICULTURE Notes
EARLY AGRICULTURE
Topic: Resources and Economic Activities — Subject: Social Studies
Target age: 12 years (Kenya)
What is Early Agriculture? 🌾
Early agriculture means the first ways people started to grow crops and keep plants for food instead of only hunting and gathering. In Kenya this began many hundreds to thousands of years ago in places with good soils and water.
When and Where in Kenya?
- Farmers appeared in different parts of Kenya at different times: in some highland areas, the Rift Valley and near lakes and rivers.
- Bantu-speaking farmers brought many crops (like millet, sorghum and bananas) and settled in the highlands and western Kenya.
- Other groups, such as Nilotic peoples, practiced fishing and pastoralism (keeping animals) alongside or instead of farming.
Crops, Animals and Tools 🥥🔨
- Millet and sorghum — drought-tolerant grains.
- Yams and sweet potatoes — root crops.
- Bananas — important in central and western highlands.
- Later: maize became popular after it arrived from the Americas.
- Domesticated animals: goats, cattle (in some groups).
- Tools: digging sticks, wooden or stone hoes, then iron hoes as metalworking spread.
- Storage: simple granaries to keep grain safe from pests.
Farming Methods
- Clearing fields by cutting vegetation (sometimes using fire) — called shifting cultivation.
- Planting seeds in rows and using hoes to remove weeds.
- Using fertile river banks and lake shores for garden plots.
- Terracing and simple irrigation developed later in hill areas to protect soil from erosion and get more water to crops.
Effects on People and Society 🏘️
- Permanent settlements: people lived in one place and built houses and villages.
- Population growth: more reliable food meant more children grew up.
- Special jobs: some people became potters, weavers or tool makers while others farmed.
- Trade: farmers exchanged crops for goods from other regions, including coastal trade later on.
Compare: Farming, Pastoralism and Hunting-Gathering
Grow crops, stay in one place, store food.
Keep animals, move with herds to find pasture and water (e.g., Maasai, Kalenjin).
Collect wild plants and hunt animals; move often to follow food.
How Do We Know About Early Agriculture?
- Archaeologists find pottery, seeds, and tools in old villages.
- Plant remains and charred seeds show what people grew.
- Old terraces and storage pits show how they managed land and food.
Did you know? Ancient seeds and pots can be thousands of years old and tell us which crops early Kenyans grew.
Activity & Revision Questions ✍️
- Draw a simple map of Kenya and mark areas where early farmers might have lived (highlands, Rift Valley, near lakes).
- List three crops early Kenyan farmers grew and say why each was useful.
- Explain one way farming changed life for people compared to hunting and gathering.
Glossary
- Agriculture — growing crops and keeping plants for food.
- Pastoralism — keeping livestock and moving them to find food and water.
- Granary — a store for keeping grain safe from pests and weather.
- Shifting cultivation — clearing land to farm for a few years, then moving to new land.
Use these notes to prepare for class, do the activity, and ask your teacher about local examples of early farming where you live — many Kenyan communities keep memories and traditions that link to these early practices.