Answer E: The diffusion of plants and animals was dependent on nomadic traders who traveled between agricultural villages because early farmers were sedentary and did not travel to other areas. Answer D: The diffusion of plants and animals was limited to areas close to each hearth of domestication because the newly developed plants and animals could not readily adapt to different soil types. Answer C: Both domesticated plants and animals spread across the globe through contagious diffusion in early years by farmers and traders, and later by relocation diffusion through European exploration and colonialism. The township-and-range system results in a widely dispersed population, whereas the metes-and- bounds system results in a random, dispersed population pattern. Answer B: Domesticated plants spread through wind-borne dispersal of seeds from their original hearth, expanding slowly until a vast region was covered with new plants.
Which of the following best explains the diffusion of plants and animals from their hearths of domestication? Answer A: Animals were domesticated before plants and diffused rapidly from their hearth of domestication through contagious diffusion because they were mobile and moved easily from place to place.