Overview
This lecture introduces the four main modes of subsistence— foraging, pastoralism, horticulture, and agriculture—outlining how each system shapes food acquisition, social structures, gender roles, property, and human-environment interactions.
Modes of Subsistence
- Four main modes: foraging, pastoralism, horticulture, and agriculture, each shaped by environment and technology.
- Foraging relies on wild plants and animals; it is typically egalitarian with immediate food return.
- Pastoralism depends on domesticated herds, often involving nomadic movement and pronounced gender and property roles.
- Horticulture features small-scale, shifting crop cultivation, with minimal technology and food mainly for direct consumption.
- Agriculture uses intensive field cultivation with technologies (irrigation, mechanization), producing surpluses and supporting large populations.
Social, Economic, and Environmental Impacts
- Foragers have little private property and low wealth differences; sharing is central.
- Pastoralists possess private animal wealth but treat land as communal; wealth and status differences arise.
- Horticulture supports community sharing and social ties through crop exchanges and ritual.
- Agriculture encourages population growth, social stratification, division of labor, and wealth inequality.
- Human subsistence activities have long shaped and altered natural environments, blurring lines between “natural” and “built.”
Gender and Labor Organization
- Division of labor is often gendered; men frequently hunt or own livestock, women gather or perform animal care.
- In agricultural societies, specialization expands, enabling diverse occupations beyond food production.
Foodways, Property, and Global Systems
- Foodways include cultural norms about what and how people eat.
- Agriculture and global commodity chains separate food production from consumption, often disadvantaging primary producers and increasing wealth gaps.
- World systems link producers and consumers through complex commodity chains, contributing to nutritional and economic disparities.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Subsistence system — a set of practices and technologies for obtaining food.
- Modes of subsistence — foraging, pastoralism, horticulture, agriculture.
- Foodways — cultural norms and attitudes about food and eating.
- Carrying capacity — calories a land unit can support.
- Immediate return system — food is eaten soon after acquisition (foraging).
- Delayed return system — time elapses between work and food (farming).
- Broad spectrum diet — reliance on a wide variety of foods.
- Pastoralism — raising and herding domesticated animals.
- Horticulture — small-scale, shifting cultivation for local use.
- Agriculture — intensive cultivation of domesticated plants/animals with advanced technologies.
- Mono-cropping — reliance on a single crop.
- Staple crops — main dietary crops providing most calories.
- Commodity chain — sequence food follows from production to consumer.
- Built environment — human-modified landscapes.
- World system — global network linking production and consumption.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Reflect on the origins of daily meals and trace food sources.
- Consider discussion questions on food labeling, commodity chains, and mono-cropping impacts.
- Review terms and linkages between subsistence systems and social organization for exam preparation.