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Chapter 6 to 12 December 15, 2018

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1. Making a Living: Environment and Subsistence: Unit II: Topic 5 PowerPoint and Chapter 6 • Hunting and gathering (or foraging) o in which people exploit the wild plants and animals of their territory for food o Hunters and gatherers obtain their food from the natural environment the way it is – that is, they do not modify or alter the environment in any significant way o They collect the wild plant foods that grow there and hunt (or trap or fish for) the wild animals that live in the area. o Major Subsistence Patterns: Hunting and Gathering - Hunting and gathering of wild resources was an extremely successful lifeway – one that was practiced by human populations around the world for 100’s of 1000’s of years; in fact, for over 90% of human prehistory. - Hunting and gathering continues to be practiced in parts of the world today. o Although all hunters and gatherers subsist on the natural resources of their environments, because those environments vary from one region to another, so too do the lifeways of different hunting and gathering societies o Examples of Hunting and Gathering Strategies - Affluent Foraging ▪ in places where different resources are densely concentrated in a localized area, hunters and gatherers can live a largely sedentary existence in permanent villages from which they can exploit the various resources around them that are available in different seasons and where resources may also be stored and used throughout the year – e.g., the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the U.S. - Seasonal Rounds ▪ in environments where the resources are more widely dispersed and seasonal, hunters and gatherers tend to live a more mobile kind of existence, moving from place to place throughout the region during different times of the year to take advantage of what is available in different locations during different seasons – e.g., parts of the southwestern United States. • Pastoralism (or herding) o in which people tend, breed, and harvest the products from livestock (domesticated

animals) for food, trade, and other uses o In many parts of the world, people who farm crops also raise livestock, like cattle, or

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goats and sheep, which provide part of the food intake as well as other products, like wool or hides the term pastoralist is applied to people who rely almost exclusively for their livelihoods on the raising of domesticated animals. Cattle, camels, sheep, goats, reindeer, horses, llamas, alpacas, and yaks are the common animals kept by herders in various parts of the world In saying that a people are “pastoralists,” does not simply mean that they keep livestock 1. The term pastoralist is applied to people who rely almost exclusively for their livelihoods on the raising of domesticated animals. 2. Another characteristic aspect of pastoralism is that the needs of their animals are met by naturally occurring food and water i. The best natural pasture or feeding grounds often occur in different locations (e.g., at different altitudes) during different seasons the year, so most pastoralists migrate two or more times a year. 3. this seasonal mobility, called nomadism, is another of the defining features of the pastoral way of life. Moving animal herds to pasturelands at different elevations during different times of the year = transhumance. For the most part, pastoralists occupy only certain types of environments – including tundra, savanna, mountains, and deserts – that are unsuitable for agriculture - in these types of environments, keeping livestock as the major source of

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subsistence has several advantages i. Livestock are mobile = they are a food source (unlike planted crops) that can be moved around to find the best sources of pasture and water, to avoid conflict with neighbors, or to exchange with neighbors for other goods ii. the kinds of vegetation in the environments that pastoralists occupy (e.g., grasses and shrubs on the savanna, and lichen on the tundra) cannot be digested by humans. However, the herd animals can digest it where upon it is “transformed” into milk, meat, and other useful products, making herding a very productive way to “utilize” the plant resources of difficult environments iii. livestock herding is less risky than raising crops as animals are more resilient to changes in temperature, rainfall, etc. and can be moved to better locations if need be The Karamojong of Uganda combine cattle and goat herding with horticulture (growing sorghum grain in gardens). If the sorghum crops do not do well (because of low rainfall), the Karimojong can always depend on food from their cattle and goats, whose products they can also trade for other goods. Maasai Cattle Herders - In some parts of Maasai territory, cultivation is possible; in fact, most Maasai neighbors combine cattle herding with cultivation of sorghum and other crops - However, the Maasai look down on cultivation because their cattle represent wealth and are the main symbol of their cultural identity relative to their neighbors - Maasai live largely off the products of their cattle —blood, milk, meat, curds— and trade with their neighbors for cultivated foods East African Cattle Herders - The practice of the pastoralist way of life by many herders is therefore “cultural” as well as “ecological” - That is, some herders live in areas where the environment can support crops, but they choose not to grow crops. - Throughout the savannas of East Africa, for example, cattle are more than an ordinary source of food. Cattle represent wealth and masculinity. They are the source of prestige and influence in social interactions. They are seen as a blessing from the gods and are sacrificed as religious symbols during certain ceremonies. Many pastoralists draw part of their cultural identity from the way of life they practice that they see as “noble” and “freer” than farming. The main economic benefit of pastoralism, is that it allows large numbers of people to live well in regions unsuitable or marginal for successful farming “Making a living” from the land - Although there are exceptions to and combinations of these different types of subsistence practices an important point to consider with regard to all subsistence-related activities as well as other kinds of important humanenvironment interactions is: - The ways a people harness the resources and cope with the problems of living in a particular environment are important influences on many dimensions of the group’s culture.

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- in which people intentionally plant, care for, and harvest crops (domesticated plants) for food and other uses. - With the development of agriculture - With the development of agriculture people began to settle down in permanent villages, which eventually grew into towns and cities - Because agriculture produces a large surplus of food, not everyone had to be involved in subsistence activities → some individuals took on specialized tasks and roles → increased social differentiation → sharp class divisions within human societies as some individuals acquired more wealth (e.g., from the ownership of more productive agricultural properties) and power than others. - Agriculture represents a very different kind of subsistence strategy from the hunting and gathering of wild plants and animals in that it involves controlled food production

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vs. the collection of wild food resources. - Hunting/Gathering vs. Agriculture 1. Hunters and gatherers exploit the natural food resources present in their environment by hunting wild game and collecting wild plant foods. 2. Agriculturalists produce the food they need through the growing of domesticated plant crops and the raising of domesticated animals. 3. Hunting and gathering does not involve altering the natural environment in any significant way i. Hunters and gatherers harvested whatever was living naturally in a region – picking the wild plants and hunting the wild animals they needed – but otherwise leaving everything else intact, and not changing the resource environments they were exploiting in any significant way. - The Development of Agriculture ○ The development of agriculture represents a new kind of relationship between people and the environment in that it involves human efforts to manipulate plants and animals, and modify their natural environments, to increase their productivity and usefulness to human populations. ○ the shift to an agricultural subsistence base began with the domestication of certain wild plant and animal species, which resulted in the creation of whole new species of plants and animals - Domestication ○ The term domestication refers to a process whereby the physical characteristics of a wild plant or animal species are gradually changed – by human selection and manipulation → resulting in the development of new, domesticated, species of plants and animals that possess characteristics that make them more useful to human populations than their wild ancestors were. ○ A second feature about domestication – particularly with regard to domesticated plants, is that, by definition, they are plants that can only be grown and survive with human assistance or intervention – because domesticated plants have lost the ability to disperse their own seeds and thus propagate themselves (produce a next generation of plants). ○ Domestication of Wheat 1. Brittle vs. Tough Rachis (or stalk) □ When wild wheat ripens, the rachis – or segment of stalk to which the wheat kernels are attached – becomes very brittle allowing seeds to easily detach & become dispersed □ Rachis of wild wheat ripens gradually – from top to bottom – over a period of about 1 to 2 weeks allowing kernels to be randomly dispersed □ Both of these features of wild wheat make it hard for humans to harvest efficiently. □ Domesticated wheat has a tough rachis & kernels that ripen at the same time. 2. Hard vs. Soft Glumes (or husks) □ The kernels of wild wheat (left) are enclosed in very hard protective husks, called glumes. These hard glumes protect the seeds from frost and dehydration, but they are difficult to remove and the human digestive system also has trouble breaking them down. Domesticated wheat (right) has much softer and more digestible glumes. 3. Wild wheat only has two rows of kernels on each stalk. □ In domesticated wheat, each stalk has six rows = more food per each stalk of grain in domesticated wheat ○ Domestication of corn ▪ It got bigger ▪ Other benefits of domesticated corn over its wild ancestor (teocinte) include thick husks that protect the grain inside from frost and dehydration and also prevent the loss of corn kernels when harvesting, and the kernels adhere so tightly to the cob that they can only be removed by cutting them off. ○ Process of Plant Domestication: ▪ Cultivation □ The domestication of plants may have begun with the intentional

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cultivation of the wild ancestors of later domesticated species – e.g., wild wheat, teocinte. □ Cultivation” refers to activities that increase the growth and yield of a plant species –e.g., removing weeds and other competing plants from around a stand of wild grain, bringing in water to irrigate wild stands, even transplanting seeds from wild plants to areas where the soils might be better or to locations nearer to a band’s seasonal campsite. ▪ Selection □ Plants with certain characteristics were selected for by early cultivators and gradually became more common. □ This process of “selection” may have begun with people intentionally harvesting the “mutants” in a wild stand – e.g., plants with a larger cob and therefore more kernels of grain on them, and so on. □ The seeds from these plants may have then been intentionally planted in order to increase the number of plants with these characteristics. ○ Plant Domestication ▪ However the domestication of plants may have begun, what we get in domesticated species, like wheat and corn, are plants that are more useful to humans that their wild ancestors were – e.g., they are easier to harvest, or digest and they produce more food per plant. - Types of Agriculture ○ Although there are many different kinds of specific agricultural practices today around the world (dependent on local environments and so forth), these can all be considered in terms of two general types of agriculture that differ in terms of the amount of food they produce per unit of land and therefore how many people can be fed. ○ As a result of these kinds of differences, these two types of agriculture are also typically associated with very different types of cultures or societies ○ Horticulture ▪ Small-scale agricultural production, typically for personal use ▪ People who practice horticulture depend primarily on their own labor and energy expenditure to clear their fields and process their crops. ▪ They plant their fields with simple hand tools like hoes, water their fields with buckets or jars, harvest and process the grain by hand, and then store it for later use for by their household. ▪ Tropic Environments: Shifting Cultivation/Slash-and-Burn Agriculture: □ Slash-and-burn / shifting cultivation is an extensive form of agriculture, meaning that it takes a lot of land because an individual field has to be allowed to lie fallow for several years before it can be planted again. While some fields are “resting” in fallow, other land must cleared to plant. Each family and community must therefore have access to several plots of land ▪ Arid Environments: Dryland Farming □ Farming in arid regions requires careful monitoring and control of available moisture. □ The Zuni people of the American Southwest created “waffle gardens”, small plots 2 to 8 feet wide surrounded by raised mounds of earth and stones that kept rainwater concentrated on the crops and slowed down evaporation. □ In the same region (the American Southwest), the Pueblo peoples spread their crops around, planting small fields in different locations and elevations as well as several weeks apart so that late rains or early frosts could not destroy all of the harvest for a year ▪ Other aspects of cultures associated with agricultural subsistence 1) Permanent settlements that are occupied year-round that can have populations in the 100’s. a) people do not need to move around from season to season to exploit different kinds of food resources in different locations because they have what they need around them in the crops they raise and the surplus stored from each harvest which they can live on throughout the year.

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b) Farming also involves a major investment of time and energy. Agricultural crops represent the primary source of food and have to be carefully tended. 2) The investment that individuals put into their fields and crops creates a situation for agriculturalists that differs from hunters and gatherers which is their relationship to their fields as property – as their land to which they alone have the rights to use and reap the products of. 3) Because different plots of land may be more or less productive than others, this kind of ownership of land – as well as the other possessions typically accumulated by people who are more sedentary or settled – can become measurable determinants of relative wealth among the members of the community. a) The accumulation of greater wealth can become a strong cultural value, very different from the values of equality and reciprocal sharing among hunters and gatherers ▪ Horticultural societies differ from hunting and gathering societies in □ Living in larger and more permanent or sedentary communities; and □ Having more definite rights of ownership over particular pieces of land, □ which in turn creates conditions for a differentiation of wealth within a community, with some people having more than others ○ Intensive Agriculture ▪ As communities grew, people began developing more intensive forms of agriculture to feed larger population ▪ Intensive agriculture simply means using the land more intensively – i.e., to produce for food per unit of land ▪ intensification of agricultural practices include □ growing crops continuously in the same fields and then using fertilizers to maintain the nutrient levels in the soils □ replacing purely human energy and labor with draft animals to pull plows to clear larger tracts of land faster □ and in many places, people dramatically altered the landscape itself to bring unproductive areas under cultivation ▪ Intensive Agricultural Practices □ Terracing  Terracing makes it possible to farm on steep terrain □ Irrigation  irrigation makes it possible to farm in arid environments, including the Nile Valley and Mesopotamia where some of the world’s earliest civilizations developed. ▪ The development and use of intensive agricultural practices is generally associated with the development of larger more complex societies – or “civilizations” – in different parts of the world. ▪ Because intensive agriculture produces more food per unit of land than horticulture, crop yields produce a massive surplus that can support large populations that include many non-food producing members – like the military, the clergy, fine artisans, and merchants, and all other professionals – as well as the rulers and their courts ▪ in early civilizations, part of the annual crop harvests of the farmers were paid as tribute (or taxes) to the state – which was used to support the elite and other important personnel, like priests and the professional military. ▪ Farmers also keep part of their crop yields for themselves – to feed their families and also to trade for other goods that they need from the specialized producers of other kinds of necessary goods, like pottery, tools, clothing and so forth. ▪ Intensive Agriculturalists vs. Horticulturalists □ Horticulturalists are generally self-sufficient and independent. They grow what they eat and they eat what they grow and may trade some of their surplus for other kinds of goods that they need. □ In more complex societies supported by intensive agriculture, the economy is much more specialized and the population is therefore much more economically interdependent.

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• Relationships between subsistence practices and cultural systems - In most environments, hunting and gathering is most efficient when people live in small, seasonally mobile groups that maintain flexible rights to the natural resources of large territories - Horticultural people settle in hamlets or villages in which land and other productive resources are owned by families or other kinship or residential groups. - Intensive agriculture resulted in the development of towns and cities occupied by elites and specialists and surrounded by rural peasant communities that contribute labor, tribute, and/or tax to support the government and public projects - pastoral peoples are seasonally nomadic, with grazing rights to pasture lands vested in families or other kin groups or in the tribe as a whole

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• What are some general characteristics of hunting and gathering societies? o Low population density bands of 25 to 50 related individuals o Loose attachment of bands to a particular territory and flexible rights to resource o High degree of mobility across the landscape of a region o Congregation and dispersal of groups, usually in relationship to the seasonal

availability and abundance of food resources o Division of labor based mainly on sex and age o Strongly held values and strongly enforced norms of reciprocal sharing and of

economic and social equality, both in terms of personal possessions and social status 1) Hunting and gathering societies today tend to have small populations to avoid overexploiting or exhausting the resources that they need from the environment in order to survive. 2) Related, in part, to the kinds of environments that most modern -day hunters and gatherers occupy which tend to be marginal environments in remote parts of the world

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3) Most modern hunting and gatherin...