Who Are Hunter Gatherers?

Hunter-gatherers are people who live in areas that are not conducive to agriculture. They usually do not have political and economic officials, and they divide their labor by age and gender. Anthropologists have studied a variety of hunter-gatherers throughout history. Some of the groups include the Mbuti of central Africa, the San of the Kalahari Desert in south Africa, and the Copper Inuit of North America.

Complex hunter-gatherers

Complex hunter-gatherers are found across North America, the Canadian Arctic, the American Southeast, and parts of Australia. Archeologists also found evidence of these ancient people in the Middle East and northern Eurasia. By examining the prestige items found in these sites, archaeologists can determine how people's status changed over time.

The development of social complexity in hunter-gatherers suggests an ordered sequence of events. These events included expansion and colonization, reduced foraging ranges, territoriality, and technological changes that enabled people to overcome seasonal variation and increase population density. In addition, these changes led to a rise in inequality and localized competition.

Unlike simple hunter-gatherers, complex hunter-gatherers were able to store large quantities of food. In addition to storing meat and fish, these Northwest Coast populations also used social bonds to share resources with other groups. Furthermore, these societies lived in long-term villages, with households of thirty to one hundred people.

Complex hunter-gatherers should spread across the landscape to take advantage of seasonal resource yields. When population density impedes mobility, resource return rates decline. This leads to seasonal resource impoverishment and increased mortality. Furthermore, hunter-gatherers should develop storage strategies to extend the life span of their resources. In addition, seasonal resource yields are not predictable, and seasonal resource availability and abundance varies across the landscape.

The development of hunting techniques and methods of sharing among complex hunter-gatherers varies depending on their environment. The importance of sharing is still emphasized in hunter-gatherer studies. These societies survive by hunting in diverse environments and facing many threats. Using blowpipes and darts high into the trees is an example of this.

When the availability of high-ranking resources decreases, hunter-gatherers expand their diet to include lower-ranking resources. As their diets change, they include species that have a higher processing cost. This incremental shift leads to a reduction in the number of high-ranking resources.

Simple hunter-gatherers

Hunting requires considerable strength, knowledge, and skill. Age-dependent abilities peak at about 35 years, and the probability of finding game increases as a function of location and age. The yearly mortality rate is the product of background mortality and energy-dependent mortality. While the exact rate of change depends on several factors, it is close to hunter-gatherer levels.

Ancient hunter-gatherers lacked active gods, although they may have had ancestral spirits. These spirits may have had limited powers of supernatural monitoring and control. Those who believe in active gods probably belong to cultures that practice decision-making and control. However, if there were no active gods, this indicates that the hunter-gatherers had deep evolutionary roots. The small size of their populations meant that collective action problems were less of a concern.

Despite their limited resources, hunter-gatherers often share their food. Their lifestyle is highly dependent on sharing, and they rarely have the luxury of owning private wealth items. Their diets depend on the resources available to them, and they cannot store food in their communities. Moreover, their lifestyles are often monogamous.

Complex hunter-gatherers, on the other hand, developed sophisticated tools that allowed them to use large amounts of energy and time in gathering food. Because they had no need for small and lightweight tools, they could invest their resources in larger tools and structures. This enabled them to build large boats, nets, and carving tools. Moreover, the complex hunter-gatherers had a higher density of people than the simple hunter-gatherers. The average size of these complex villages ranged from 100 to 2000 people.

Humans have been in contact with animals, plants, and landscapes for millions of years. This relationship requires that humans learn to communicate with the world. In addition to this, humans have to be careful about how they treat these powerful entities. Excessive demands could lead to the destruction of the natural order.