hunter-gathering
Pre-agricultural food procurement
Hunter-gathering is the oldest human subsistence strategy, obtaining food by hunting wild animals and collecting wild plants rather than farming or herding.
Before agriculture emerged around 10,000 years ago, all humans were hunter-gatherers.
The term often appears as an adjective: hunter-gathering societies, hunter-gathering lifestyle.
A few groups still practice it today.
Monitoring location over time
- stalkingStealthy, persistent pursuit
- ambushSurprise strike from concealment
- trapsDevices for catching prey
- snaresTraps or drum wires
spear · bow and arrow · game · prey · quarry · butchering · hide tanning · sinew
Earliest tool-making period
- neolithicFinal Stone Age period
- stone toolsShaped rocks for tasks
- flintknappingStriking stone to shape tools
- megafaunaSpecies over 44 kilograms
cave paintings · oral tradition · shamanism · totems · rituals · mythology · ancestors · kinship
Southern African hunter-gatherers
- indigenous rightsProtections for original inhabitants
- traditional knowledgeCommunity wisdom across generations
- ethnobotanyScience of human-plant relationships
- rewildingRestoring natural ecosystems
Small fleshy fruits
- edible plantsConsumable botanical matter
- mushroomsSpore-bearing fruiting bodies
- nutsSeeds in shells
- rootsUnderground nutrient absorbers
tubers · herbs · seeds · honey · grubs · shellfish · wildcrafting · fiddleheads
Movement to new territory
- bandGroup playing music together
- territoryLand under jurisdiction
- carrying capacityPopulation an environment sustains
- mobilityCapacity for movement
temporary shelter · lean-to · wickiup · base camp · pathways · water sources · range · movement patterns
Independence from outside aid
- caloric needsBody's fuel demand
- division of laborSplitting tasks among workers
- sharingDividing among others
- reciprocityMutual exchange of actions
egalitarian · food storage · preservation · drying · smoking · pemmican · scarcity · surplus
tracking
Monitoring location over time
- stalkingStealthy, persistent pursuit
- ambushSurprise strike from concealment
- trapsDevices for catching prey
snares · spear · bow and arrow · game · prey · quarry · butchering · hide tanning · sinew · antlers
paleolithic
Earliest tool-making period
- neolithicFinal Stone Age period
- stone toolsShaped rocks for tasks
- flintknappingStriking stone to shape tools
megafauna · cave paintings · oral tradition · shamanism · totems · rituals · mythology · ancestors · kinship · clans
Bushmen
Southern African hunter-gatherers
- indigenous rightsProtections for original inhabitants
- traditional knowledgeCommunity wisdom across generations
- ethnobotanyScience of human-plant relationships
berries
Small fleshy fruits
- edible plantsConsumable botanical matter
- mushroomsSpore-bearing fruiting bodies
- nutsSeeds in shells
roots · tubers · herbs · seeds · honey · grubs · shellfish · wildcrafting · fiddleheads · ramps
migration
Movement to new territory
- bandGroup playing music together
- territoryLand under jurisdiction
- carrying capacityPopulation an environment sustains
mobility · temporary shelter · lean-to · wickiup · base camp · pathways · water sources · range · movement patterns · dispersal
self-sufficiency
Independence from outside aid
- caloric needsBody's fuel demand
- division of laborSplitting tasks among workers
- sharingDividing among others
reciprocity · egalitarian · food storage · preservation · drying · smoking · pemmican · scarcity · surplus
hunter-gatheringagriculture
Cultivation of land, livestock
farming · pastoralism · herding · animal husbandry · cultivation
hunter-gatheringcivilization
Advanced organized human society
industrial society · modernity · industrialism · urbanism · agricultural society
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