Hunting and gathering bands are typically not characterized by large, permanent settlements or complex social hierarchies. They do not rely on agriculture or domesticated animals for their subsistence, nor do they possess significant material wealth or accumulation of resources. Additionally, they tend to have egalitarian social structures, which contrasts with traits like rigid class systems or centralized leadership that are found in more complex societies.
They must have at least fifty people in them to adequately provide for themselves. the above trait is the trait that does NOT describe hunting and gathering bands.
The Hunting Accident
the bands came in search of food, following grass razing animals that had crossed earlier
During the Paleolithic era, people lived in small groups called bands. These bands typically consisted of 20-30 individuals, although the exact number could vary based on factors like available resources and environmental conditions. Community living was important for survival and cooperation in hunting, gathering, and maintaining social connections.
Hunter-gatherer societies typically have small, nomadic bands that rely on hunting, fishing, and gathering for their food. They have relatively simple social structures, often based on kinship ties, and practice a level of egalitarianism. They have a deep knowledge of their environment and utilize resources sustainably.
The !Kung people of southern Africa are an example of a band society. They live in small, mobile groups that rely on hunting and gathering for their sustenance. Bands typically consist of fewer than 100 individuals and have fluid social structures with no formal leadership.
Early bands of people specialized to enhance their survival and efficiency in resource use. By dividing labor based on individual skills and environmental demands, groups could improve their hunting, gathering, and crafting techniques. This specialization allowed for more effective use of resources, leading to increased food production, better tools, and stronger social structures, ultimately supporting the development of more complex societies.
This started new hunting bands to adapt to new conditions and learned how to grow crops.
The Athabascan people, primarily located in Alaska and parts of Canada, traditionally organized their social structure around small, kin-based groups or bands that were often mobile, following seasonal resources. They relied heavily on family ties and communal cooperation for hunting, gathering, and sharing resources. Social roles were typically defined by age and gender, with men primarily responsible for hunting and women for gathering and processing food. Spiritual beliefs and cultural practices also played a significant role in their community dynamics, fostering a strong sense of identity and connection to the land.
This started new hunting bands to adapt to new conditions and learned how to grow crops.
Particularly as practiced thousands of years ago when farming first appeared as an alternative to hunting and gathering, there were both advantages and disadvantages to each, but on the whole, the hunter gatherers were healthier. Hunting and gathering tended to produce a more diversified and nutritious diet, was less labor intensive, and since it did not produce as large a quantity of food, it also did not lead to the same high reproductive rate, since hunter gatherers can only have as many children as they can feed. The higher reproductive rate among farming communities eventually lead to to ills of early civilization, such as epidemics, water polluted by sewage, economic disparity and class struggle, etc. However, hunting and gathering is much less reliable as a food source; if you are just trying to find food in some natural environment, there is never any guarantee of what you will find, and furthermore, there are seasonal variations. In the winter the hunter gatherer may get very hungry, at least in the temperate or northerly lattitudes. And of course, the larger population of farming societies inevitably overcame the smaller bands of hunter gatherers. In a social sense, hunter gatherers could not compete.
Nomadic people historically moved around in bands primarily during the Paleolithic Era, which lasted from approximately 2.6 million years ago to around 10,000 BCE. During this time, they relied on hunting and gathering for subsistence, forming small, mobile groups that followed seasonal patterns of resource availability. This lifestyle continued into the Mesolithic period (around 10,000 to 5,000 BCE) until the advent of agriculture, which led to more sedentary societies.