Subsistence and Economy

Part 1:

 Hunter Gatherers Subsistence

In the beginning, before farmers and industrial societies came along, hunters had their choice of the best environments. Foragers had ample leisure time to concentrate on family, social live, and spiritual development. Hunter gatherers have ample and balanced diets. They ate meat, fish, and wild plants. Food resources are typically shared and distributed equally throughout the group. What was available for one was available for all. They were high in mobility because they lack the use of animals or mechanical transportation. Relationships between men and women dose not constitute inequality.

Agriculture Subsistence

Crop cultivation was one of the most significant development of fixed settlements, which allowed farming families to reside together near their cultivated fields. They obtain surplus crop cultivation. Food was traded or sold for cash. Farmers developed an adaption to wetland and dryland. Because food from the hard work of others were  provided to all, it allowed others to spend time inventing and making more tools needed to help with farming.

Hunter Gatherers Cost

Hunter’s communities have nearly disappeared in areas of having a natural abundance of food and fuel resources. They no longer have their pick of the best environments because farmers and industrial societies have become more common and need ample land. Hunters were once nonaggressive and place emphasis on peacefulness but recently, warlike behavior have become more present in response to pressure from expansionist states. More energy is required to fetch water then can be obtain from the food. Because carrying capacity of the land the hunters  regulated population size by requiring women to maintain a certain minimum of body fat. She have to breastfeed the baby for years because it helps to reduce ovulation.

Agriculture Cost

Urban rulling class sought to widen its territorial power and poitical control over rural populations. A powerful group managed to dominate a community of farmers. The burden of taxes to feed those repressing them, lead these farmers with little to nothing to feed their families. Farmers became peasant, with little to no surplus, trade was almost impossible. Growing numbers of farmers were trying to survive on less fertile land and forced into poverty. Most peasant remain struggling to make ends meet.

Healthier Diets

Hunter gatherers had ample and balanced diets. They ate plenty of fish, wild plants, and meats. They lack the desire to amass things, so food was not a surplus. This does not mean that they were starving, but they only ate was was needed.  Hoarding was not a practice of the hunters, food was spread and shared with the community, therefor obesity did not exist. This is a way of keeping their food in their safe house.

Transition to Agriculture

I believe some humans transition to agriculture because it requires less energy and mobility. Agriculture does not require much traveling to obtain their food. A second reason would be, the stability that agriculture permits. Families can settle down in environments they chose to grow their crop. A farmers can usually depend on their crop the following season. Agriculture allows for surplus, which allows for trade.

Part 2

Economics and Trade

The statement , “ There is a direct relationship between the availability of surplus and the ability to trade” means, having extra food or items, allows you the ability to trade of others items. The text book states,  " In all societies , the prevailing reality of life has been the inadequacy of output to fill the wants and needs of the people". If a family or a comunity does not have access to any surplus, they will not be able to be involve in trade. Also having something valuble that others want would also be a plus. When trading, you trade with others that do not have what you have and this makes your item valuble to them and yourself.

The benefits of trade

The two benefit of trade are exchanging items you don’t want or need, for other items you want or need. You can trade for items that are not available in your area or items that are hard to get, even money. The second benefit would be ties that connect them to surrounding agricultural and industrial societies.

The negative side of trade

The two negative side to trade would be, large corporation main priority is to maximizing profits.  They have so much money and power to conduct their business. Small family farmers are pushed out and have no way of competting with those big company. Big company  urban ruling class sought to widen its territorial power and political control over rural populations. Farmers were forced to pay tax to the group that were repressing them.  With growing numbers trying to survive on less fertile land.  It became harder for farmers to make ends meet, let alone have a supply of surplus for trade.  This kept the rich richer and the poor  poorer.

Development relationship between agriculture and trade

The development of agriculture allowed for group to obtain surplus. Farmers specialize in crop they grew on their land, with all the crop that came with farming, it only made since for farmers to trade with other farmers. They traded things they did not have access to or was hard to get. This then lead to trading for other things such as, money, meat, supply, and so on and so on.

Sayom M.