Download Foraging/Hunting-Gathering:

Foraging/Hunting-Gathering:
a Subsistence Strategy, a Lifestyle
Humans have been hunter-gatherers (foragers) for roughly 99% of their
existence on planet Earth.
What do you have to know to be a good hunter-gatherer?
o How to schedule the collection of many (often hundreds) species of
plants
o The seasonal and daily habits/behaviors of prey species
o Different characteristics of the physical environment (soils, geology,
water, weather, etc)
o How to store, process and prepare wild foods
o Various resource management techniques
o How to be opportunistic. Since your diet is highly diversified you
must be responsive to seasonal & annual fluctuations in resources
Low-energy budget:
It’s the minimum outlay of energy for the extraction of necessary resources
Generally, the adaptive strategy used by H-G’s
Primary source of energy – human muscle power!
The place of H-G groups in the larger ecosystem:
Low-energy needs
Wide resource base  H-G’s have little impact on other components of ecosystems
Controlled population
Social Organization of Foragers: some generalities
o Social units are called bands
o Bands tend to be fairly small – groups of closely
related families
o Group sizes reflect fluctuations in food
availability during various times of year
o Reciprocity is vital to H-G societies. Systematic
sharing and redistribution of resources, insuring
steady supply of food even for those families
who’ve not had luck in H&G
o Nomadism or regular movement of bands within
circumscribed territories, the boundaries of
which are recognized by other H-G bands
o Egalitarianism usually, but not in all cases –
lacking status distinctions, except those based on
age, gender, and individual qualities,
achievements & talents
o The typical foraging society gender-based
division of labor has women gathering and men
hunting and fishing, with gathering contributing
more to the group diet.