Grass family - Grass family

… Of all the various cultivated plants, the earliest to be domesticated were probably cereals and potatoes. The cultivation of cereals of the Gramineae family, such as wheat, rice, and corn, requires agricultural activities throughout the year, such as plowing the land at certain times, sowing seeds, and harvesting at certain times, so human lifestyles quickly became established. However, in areas where agriculture originated, with potatoes, which are primarily propagated vegetatively, as the main crop, there were no strict regulations for sowing and harvesting periods as there are for cereal cultivation, and potatoes are often difficult to store for long periods compared to cereals, so human establishment probably occurred very slowly. …

*Some of the terminology that refers to "grass family cereals" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…　いろいろな栽培植物のうちでも，もっとも初期に栽培化されたものは穀類やいも類であろう。ムギ，イネ，トウモロコシなどのイネ科穀類の栽培は，一定の時期に土地を耕し，種子をまき，一定の時期に収穫するという1年を通しての農業活動が要請されるので，人間の生活様式は急速に定着化していくことになった。しかし，栄養繁殖を主とするいも類などを主要作物とした農耕が起源した地域では，穀類栽培にみられるような播種（はしゆ）期や収穫期が厳密に規制されておらず，またいも類は穀類にくらべ長期間貯蔵することはむずかしいものが多いので，人間の定着化はきわめてゆるやかに起こったものであろう。…

※「イネ科穀類」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報