The major crops of the world such as tobacco, sugar, cotton, tea, the entire spectrum of spices, rubber, and coffee and chocolate have had myriad impacts on world culture in both social and economic manners when looked at through the most rudimentary lens. The impact of these crops however goes beyond just the social and economic layers of society; in fact, they are a foundation for society as a whole, contributing to the discovery of all corners of the Earth and the technological progress needed to accomplish such feats. However, before each new crop could be discovered in its native region and then mass cultivated and produced, explorers needed a means to discovery and cultivation, a means brought about by the plant and byproduct most influential on world history: wood.

Timber
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            Before technology, wood served as a fuel source for man, burnt for warmth and preparing food beneath their shelters constructed of timber. This use of wood lies at the heart of the human ability to survive and it has been maintained (and over-harvested) in our species’ history as a primary resource for continued life in all regions of the world. Beyond being used as a fuel for fire (which encompasses endless uses within itself) wood and trees have been used structurally since the beginning of time in both transportation and shelter needs. Without the wooden ships that brought Europeans to the far-East and also the New World, all of the aforementioned crops would not have been cultivated and produced in the way we know them today. This also includes the entire populations of enslaved peoples brought to the New World for cultivation of all of such crops and other appalling “uses.”

Slave Ship
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Basic technologies such as baskets and hunting and gathering tools constructed from wood contributed to the commencement of the Neolithic Revolution, the basis of all agriculture in the modern world. With agriculture came the need for increased production and therefore technology such as plows and mills--constructed from wood--to supply entire societies with food and a wholesome livelihood in general. The paper used from wood and used as money in its earliest uses still serves as nearly the entire basis of functioning societies and economies today. Likewise, the transfer of information through written literature and scientific report now serves as the entire basis of the world’s collections of knowledge and data. Beyond these crucial uses that have molded society into its modern form, wood has also contributed to ceremonial purposes and also a building material for the weapons that paved the way for world discovery and the annihilation of entire cultures. It is used medicinally and in sport as well. The list goes on.

Written Notes of Leonardo Da Vinci
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Trees and the wood produced from them are the foundation of society’s most influential factors today. The production of crops that developed the world was not possible without wooden resources. Without wood life as we know it in the modern day simply would not exist, and it is clear that beyond their ecological functions, trees and wood have had the greatest impact on world history.