hunting-gathering
Pre-agricultural food procurement
Hunting-gathering is a mode of subsistence in which people obtain food by hunting wild animals and collecting wild plants rather than by farming or herding.
It was the universal human way of life until agriculture emerged roughly ten thousand years ago.
Small groups of hunting-gathering peoples still exist in remote regions.
Also called foraging.
Hunting-gathering societies typically moved seasonally to follow food sources.
Seeking wild food sources
- nomadicWithout fixed residence
- paleolithicEarliest tool-making period
- bandGroup playing music together
- campsiteDesignated outdoor lodging area
seasonal · mobility · ancestral · hearth · shelter · kinship · egalitarian · sharing
Monitoring location over time
- stalkingStealthy, persistent pursuit
- preyAnimal being hunted
- gameOrganized play or sport
- spearPole with sharp point
bow · arrow · trap · snare · butchering · ambush · quarry · stealth
Small fleshy fruits
- rootsUnderground nutrient absorbers
- tubersUnderground plant storage organs
- nutsSeeds in shells
- seedsPlant embryos in casings
basket · edible plants · seasonal harvest · shellfish · insects · honey · wild greens · acorns
Systematic study of peoples
- InuitArctic indigenous people
- AboriginalAustralia's native peoples
- indigenousOriginating in a region
- fieldworkResearch conducted on location
tribe · reciprocity · oral tradition · lifeways · primitive
Fitting to new conditions
- human evolutionOur species' biological origin
- savannaTropical grassland, sparse trees
- PleistoceneAncient glacial geological period
- brain developmentMental faculties emerging over time
bipedalism · cooperation · social learning · diet · nutrition · energy expenditure · reproductive success · tool use
foraging
Seeking wild food sources
- nomadicWithout fixed residence
- paleolithicEarliest tool-making period
- bandGroup playing music together
campsite · seasonal · mobility · ancestral · hearth · shelter · kinship · egalitarian · sharing · territory
tracking
Monitoring location over time
spear · bow · arrow · trap · snare · butchering · ambush · quarry · stealth · drive
berries
Small fleshy fruits
seeds · basket · edible plants · seasonal harvest · shellfish · insects · honey · wild greens · acorns · processing
ethnography
Systematic study of peoples
- InuitArctic indigenous people
- AboriginalAustralia's native peoples
- indigenousOriginating in a region
fieldwork · tribe · reciprocity · oral tradition · lifeways · primitive
adaptation
Fitting to new conditions
- human evolutionOur species' biological origin
- savannaTropical grassland, sparse trees
- PleistoceneAncient glacial geological period
brain development · bipedalism · cooperation · social learning · diet · nutrition · energy expenditure · reproductive success · tool use · fire control
- subsistencefood, hunger, starvation, basic needs, sustenance
- farming culturestraditional farming, traditional agriculture, indigenous farming, indigenous agriculture, farming practices
hunting-gatheringagriculture
Cultivation of land, livestock
farming · herding · pastoralism · animal husbandry · cultivation
hunting-gatheringcivilization
Advanced organized human society
industrial society · urbanization · modernity · agrarian society · stratified society