Hunting and gathering as a way of life

Hunting and gathering as a way of life FOH 1-3, Cambridge Encyclopedia, April 22

Four stages in the development of human societies?

Four stages in the development of human societies? • Hunting and gathering • Agriculture • Preindustrial civilization • Industrial / modern society

Four stages in the development of human societies? • Hunting and gathering (until c. 8000 BCE) • Agriculture (c. 8000 – 3000 BCE) • Preindustrial civilization (c. 3000 BCE – 1750 CE) • Industrial / modern society (c. 1750 CE ff)

Hunting and gathering (= foraging) • How do people sustain themselves? • How do they relate to each other?

Sustaining themselves?

Gathering • wild plants, fruits, tubers, seeds, nuts • eggs, honey, fish, small animals (lizards, etc.)  importance to diet? • who does it? why? • how much each day?

Hunting • large animals (deer, mammoth, bison, etc.), small game (rabbits, birds), fish • for meat, skins, bones, feathers, etc.  importance to diet? • who does it? why? • how much each day?

Division of labor by gender and age • Has to do more with traits of human infants

Division of labor by gender and age • Has to do more with traits of human infants than with inherent abilities of adults: • Dependent on breast milk • Noisy • Cannot walk (fast/far) • Women of childbearing age and anyone who cannot be quiet and travel far gathers foods

Nomadic = not permanently settled, moving from place to place • Why? • What does this mean for how they live, what they acquire and store? • Surplus?

Surplus = anything of value beyond what is needed for day to day survival • What form would it take in H & G societies?

Orientation to work and natural world • Gathering and hunting until daily needs are met • Natural world as source of all good things • Access to land/water is usually shared by a group or open to all (not “private property”)

How do they relate to each other? • Live in bands = small groups of 15-50 people related by kinship • Relationships of partners, parent/child, siblings exist within those groups • Bands may disperse and come together over year – as sustenance needs fluctuate

How do they relate to each other? • Egalitarian?

How do they relate to each other? • Egalitarian = treating each other as equals • Leadership “by example, not fiat” • People may “vote with their feet” • Equal value attached to gathering and hunting • Minimal surplus, little/no private property

How do they relate to each other? • Egalitarian • Reciprocity/sharing = idea that people should give to each other without expecting anything in return immediately • Sharing of food • Sharing of responsibilities • Cooperative endeavors

Hunting and gathering societies • How do they live? • Subsistence through natural world • Nomadic • Little/no surplus • How do they relate? • Bands • Egalitarian • Sharing

How do they relate to each other? • Egalitarian • Reciprocity/sharing?

Questions about H & G societies?

Hunting and gathering as a way of life