Food

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Food is probably the most important of the four resources in both AoE and AoK. Almost all units require food to be created. Also, almost all technologies require food as well.

Contents

Age of Empires I

In AoE Food can be generated in the following ways:

Berry Bushes

  • Food Value: 150
  • Deterioration Rate: None
  • Historical Context:

After the Ice Age there was an abundance of berries and fruit for the hunter-gatherer groups to collect. The humans learnt which plants were safe to eat by observing animals. They were found especially along river banks, particularly in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Developments in Agriculture reduced the need to forage from the wild. Before this, foraging would have been an essential part of the Stone Age diet. The Berry Bush in Age of Empires represents these edible plants.

Gazelles

  • Food Value: 150
  • Deterioration Rate: Slow
  • Historical Context:

After the Ice Age, there was a prevalence of small mammals and other creatures living off the vegetation. The Stone Age people caught and killed most things they could find and the paintings in the Lascaux caves in France clearly shows deer being hunted by these people. Such hunts would have taken a great deal of organisation and precision, working with the most basic weapons to catch powerful and fast animals. The Gazelle in Age of Empires represents these animals and their importance to the survival of early humans.

Elephants

  • Food Value: 300
  • Deterioration Rate: Slow
  • Historical Context:

As well as small animals, Stone Age people did not shy from hunting large and often dangerous animals. Evidence from Siberia shows how a woolly mammoth would provide a great deal of food and building material for the people there. Such an undertaking would be a dangerous activity but success would bring great rewards for the people. In times of extreme climate, a kill of this size often meant the difference between starvation and survival. As the climate improved throughout parts of the world, the humans could rely on other food sources. However, they continued hunting such animals, like the woolly mammoth, giant sloth and giant kangaroo to the point of extinction. The elephant in Age of Empires represents these large animals and the powerful attack it uses when attacked reflects the danger the Stone Age people faced.

Lions

  • Food Value: 100
  • Deterioration Rate: Fast

Alligators

  • Food Value: 100
  • Deterioration Rate: Fast

Fish

  • Food Value: 250
  • Deterioration Rate: None
  • Historical Context:

Marine life was also an important source of food for many early human communities. Fish were at first speared with great skill before new technological developments like boats were used to catch more of them. Stone Age people would have collected a wide variety of marine life, such as mussels, oysters and clams to supplement their diet. Large deposits of rubbish consisting of shells and fish bones have been found at several coastal sites where Stone Age people are known to have lived. The different varieties of fish in Age of Empires show this important source of food.

Farms

  • Food Value: 150 Minimum - 475 Maximum
  • Deterioration Rate: None
  • Historical Context:

Farms were the major breakthrough in ancient technology. With the Domestication of cereal crops and some animals, the humans did not have to worry about securing food through hunting and foraging as much. The Farm could provide a more steady flow of Food and due to this the population of the humans boomed. Communities like the Sumerians and the Egyptians thrived on the agriculture along the Tigris and Nile rivers and developed into powerful cities and then empires. Farming also brought an end to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, as people became more sedentary to watch over their growing crops and establish a community within the landscape. As the proto-urban development took place, civilizations began to form culture and religion for themselves, as well as come into conflict with other settled people. The Farm in Age of Empires reflects this early domestication of crops.


Age of Empires II

In AoK, all previous methods are possible (with the exception that Wolves cannot be hunted for food), and a fifth method was created: sheep. In AoK:TC, followed by the creation of the Mesoamerican civilizations (Aztecs and Mayans), ES implemented turkeys into the game, in keeping with ecological fact (since no sheep existed anywhere in North and South America during the Middle Ages).

Like AoE, all food can be delivered to a town center, but in AoK food can also be taken to mills.

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