One of the most previously wide spread lifestyles on earth was that of the hunter-gatherers. These groups of individuals lived in small bands of people fewer than a hundred people. They adapted to life with multiple risk management strategies such as optimal foraging theory. With this theory they tried to minimize the time and energy spent in searching for resources while maximizes the energy gained from what was gathered. Throughout the culture there is no social stratification but respect was given to those who were able to hunt and gather more than others.
Diamond mentions on page 107 that a possible ideology that many people that knew about the processes of farming were thinking was, “Shall I spend today hoeing my garden (predictably yielding a lot of vegetables several months from now), gathering shellfish (predictably yielding a little meat today), or hunting deer (yielding possibly a lot of meat today, but more likely nothing)?” Humans and animals are always prioritizing by availability and preferability of food choices. Availability played a key role because as wild game was hunted, its numbers depleted and became harder to hunt, offering less possibility of a decent payoff. This is possibly why in central and southeastern Europe the hunter-gatherer lifestyle became less effective, thus being a less likely life
Kickapoo Indians used to live in the lower parts of Wisconsin but later lived in the southern parts of Illinois and Indiana, which were among lands detained by Illinois and Miami, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. Because they were undeveloped and agricultural, they took many journeys near the country's longest river, the Mississippi, to hunt down wild and tame creatures. Hunting, they used many earthly tools that they shaped themselves such as bows, arrows, and spears. Also, because they were agricultural they ate staple food such as corn. As they, the Kickapoo Indians, became more known, they were known as travelers and for their daring or risk-taking character.
Hunter-Gatherers Adapt to Environments • Early humans were hunter-gatherers - hunted animals, gathered plants for food - moved to a new location when food ran out • Depended on natural environment for shelter - lived in caves and shelters made of rocks, branches, animal skins Small Bands • Lived in small bands of about 30 people - group included several families - group size reflected how many people could live off food in region • Men hunted, fished • Women gathered nuts, berries; cared for children - children also worked Early Humans on the Move • Hunter-gatherers were nomads—people who moved from place to place • Groups returned to the same places with the changes of seasons - bands joined together at certain times of year, formed communities • Moved to new, distant lands while following animals to hunt - migration—moving from one place to settle in another Chapter 2: The Earliest Human Societies World History: Ancient Civilizations 1 Early Humans on the Move • By 15,000 B.C., hunter-gatherers had migrated through much of world - crossed land bridge between Siberia and Alaska, entering Americas • Migrating groups entered territory of other groups - groups shared knowledge, tools - sometimes caused violent conflicts if groups feared each other REVIEW QUESTION Why did hunter-gatherers move often? Chapter 2: The Earliest Human Societies World History: Ancient Civilizations 2 The Development of Tools ESSENTIAL QUESTION What were some tools
One of the weaknesses for this French colony was that their farm land was run on a seigneurial system of land distribution. Large landowners, such as nobility, individuals in the military, and church industrials, had farmers, also known as habitants, working on their land. These farmers had to pay annual fees to these seigneurs. In order to pay these seigneurs, they paid them in produce, labour, and occasionally in money when they were able to sell their crops to buyers. Another weakness of the land tenure was that the Seigneurial system did not encourage farmers to be creative for the production of their crops.
Groups of foragers are called bands, usually made up of several related nuclear families. Family relationships are the basis for social organization. They are a nomadic people, moving around following the animals and plants they rely on for food. To remain egalitarian social organizations, foraging societies distribute important resources equally among their member, usually along kinship lines. Foragers often display division of labor; women gather and men hunt.
A nuclear family is composed of a mother and father and their children. The nuclear family is most common because, in a foraging setting, it is adaptive to various situations.”(Endicott, 1981). These camps live in groups and move from place to place so they can hunt, dig tubers, and gather goods from the forest. Both the men and the women share the same amount of work in order to take care of their families and find food. Most often the men take care of the hunting (using handmade bamboo pipes and poison darts), and the women gather the tubers and berries.
A convict’s life depended on who they worked for. In the first few years of the colony there was not a lot of food available. Crops did not grow and the colony relied heavily on supplies coming from England. Government employed convicts were given a set of food per week. Fresh vegetables were uncommon.
Medieval Towns During the Middle Ages most of the population in Europe lived in the countryside as farmers, because farming methods were inefficient and many people were needed to work on the land. As these methods improved, fewer people were needed, so more of them were able to leave their farms to practice another profession, trade, etc. As these people got together, they formed towns. The inhabitants of towns were free. They owed no obedience to the lord as farmers did, but had to pay taxes to the lord who owned the land were the town stood.
Functionalism and the Family 1. Once the family were a unit of production that was often based upon family based production particularly in pre-industrial times and the family was often self-sufficient with production and distribution carried out by custom and tradition. High mortality rates and low means of production meant life was short and hard in these times especially in rural areas where family was often centred with male children being a priority for survival as strength was typically trait linked to men. Goods were not only produced for consumption but for trade in the market as well. In order to sustain this style of economy, high fertility rates were absolutely necessary to maintain the supply of labour demand without little care for literacy other than basic understanding of the bible.