Hunter-gatherer
Also known as: forager · hunter-gatherers · hunter gatherer · hunters gatherers · hunters and gatherers
- 1Subsists on naturally occurring wildlife, plants, and fungi.
- 2Predates the rise of agriculture during the Neolithic period.
- 3Typically organized into small, nomadic or semi-nomadic tribes.
- 4Contrasts with sedentary agricultural societies in population and structure.
- 5Relies on foraging and hunting rather than domesticated food production.
A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community in which most or all food is obtained by procuring naturally occurring edible items from the local wildlife and vegetation via hunting, fishing and/or gathering fruits, seeds and other plant parts as well as edible fungi such as mushrooms.
Connections1
idealized social model
Anarcho-primitivists advocate for a return to hunter-gatherer social structures, viewing them as the only sustainable and non-alienated form of human existence.
A hunter-gatherer is a member of a society that obtains food primarily by foraging for naturally occurring resources. This includes hunting wild animals, fishing, and gathering vegetation such as fruits, seeds, and fungi. This mode of subsistence represents the primary way of life for most of human history, particularly before the widespread adoption of agriculture during the Neolithic period.
A painting by Pierre Barrère of a Kalina hunter-gatherer couple in French GuianaWikimedia Commons; Pierre Barrère; Scanned from Na'na Kali'na: Une histoire des Kali'na en Guyane.; Public domain; Wikimedia Commons: Category:Hunter-gatherersCentral African foragers in the Congo Basin in August 2014Wikimedia Commons; JMGRACIA100; Own work; CC BY-SA 4.0; Wikimedia Commons; Wikidata P18 (image)The Mal'ta-Buret' people in the Baikal region of Siberia lived in dwellings built of mammoth bones, similar to those found in Upper Paleolithic Western Eurasia. [ 11 ]Wikimedia CommonsHunter-gatherers (yellow) 4,000 years ago (rough estimate)Wikimedia CommonsA global map illustrating the decline of foraging/fishing/hunting/gathering around the world. [ 4 ]Wikimedia CommonsHunter-gatherers (yellow) 3,000 years ago (rough estimate)Wikimedia CommonsA San man in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa. Many San still live as hunter-gatherers.Wikimedia CommonsBison hunt under the wolf-skin mask, George Catlin, c. 1832Wikimedia CommonsTitle: Personal photographs of the Hon. C L A Abbott during his term as Administrator of the Northern Territory - Aborigine Chief of Bathurst Island who died of fright in Darwin when he saw his first motor car Date: 1939Wikimedia Commons; National Archives of Australia . Copied from en.wikipedia ; description page is/was here .; Public domain; Wikimedia Commons: Category:Hunter-gatherers These societies are typically organized into small, nomadic or semi-nomadic tribes consisting of a few dozen individuals. Unlike sedentary agricultural societies that rely on domesticated crops and animals for food security, hunter-gatherer groups maintain a direct, immediate relationship with their local environment. This lifestyle is characterized by high mobility and a lack of the social stratification often associated with larger, permanent settlements.