Early Human Lifestyles

Hunters and Gatherers By 12,000 years ago at the latest, human

populations had spread into most of the habitable regions of the globe, including Australia and North and South America. With the aid of their flexible, rapidly evolving cultures, these groups, loosely organized as small bands of "hunter-gatherers," were able to adapt to virtually all the climate zones and environmental niches on the planet, from the Arctic to temperate zones to the tropics.

Hunters and Gatherers exploit many resources lightly rather than to

depend heavily on only a few. Consist of small, mobile human populations

subsist on whatever resources are available within their territory.

They hunt game--whatever kinds are available, adapting their life style to the conditions they face.

Hunter-gathers exploit many different plant resources

Hunters and Gatherers hunter gatherers move seasonally to

optimize different sources of food as they become available.

A fairly large range relatively little impact on the environment

Hunters and Gatherers Hunter-gatherers tend to accumulate a

large and intimate knowledge of their range and the food sources, dangers, and opportunities which exist within it.

Knowledge is largely communal; it is shared by the group.

Hunters and Gatherers Hunter gatherer societies typically enjoy a

surprisingly diverse diet and abundant leisure.

no accumulated wealth to steal Egalitarian Little specialization Low birth rate

Pastoralists the herding of domesticated or partially

domesticated animals. with their greater mobility, pastoral

nomads have frequently found raiding of settled agricultural lands tempting and profitable.

Agriculturalists First, agriculture means sedentism--living

permanently in one place. means exploiting a relatively small amount

of land very intensively (rather than exploiting a large amount of land extensively, as hunter-gatherers did), and over a long period of time.

Agriculturalists dependent on relatively few plants-

monoculture Wheat Rice Corn

Agriculturalists Greater vulnerability to weather Complete dependency on harvest times Need for intense physical labor building permanent dwellings. for the first time specialization becomes

possible.

Agriculturalists agriculture means modifying the

environment in order to exploit it more effectively. Agriculture alters both the animals and plants it domesticates. Ultimately, it changes the very landscape itself.

Agriculturalists population growth. infectious disease Waste disposal

Agriculturalists Technological and cultural changes to support

agriculture plow gathering processing storage cooking weaving

Agriculturalists Related technologies

Metallurgy domestication of animals

Technological specialization

Agriculturalists consequences

governments hierarchies of wealth, status, and power

Priests Warriors

The Roots of the West Synthetic traditions of thought from the

agriculturalists Analytic modes of thought from

pastoralists