Arianna SolomonidesProfessor ErcemCultural AnthropologySeptember 28, 2018CRQ 4Subsistence: Subsistence is how cultures base their contrast mainly on differences in subsistence patterns, sources and methods a society uses to obtain its food and other necessities.
Explain: To explain Subsistence; it is the focus on economic differences which have proved to be useful, because what is left of the culture is still directly connected to its own economy.Example: An example of Subsistence is; that there is a shockingly high positive correlation between the type of economy and things such as population sizes and densities, scale of warfare, etc…
There are four main groups of subsistence, Foraging, Pastoralism, Horticulture, and Intensive Agriculture. Foraging: Foraging is the hunting and gathering wild plants and animals.Explain: To explain foragers; they usually have a submissive dependence on what the environment holds. They don’t plant crops and the only tamed animals that they typically have are dogs. Since they are such useful animals, they often have many functions for the foraging people. The animals serve as hunting aids, pets, camp refuse scavengers, watch animals, and even excess food when it is needed. Foragers mainly rely on their own strength in carrying out their subsistence tasks.
Most of the labor is done by themselves or in small groups of friends/ family. Example: An example of Foraging is; in North American Subarctic, foragers will use small boats and pointy weapons to capture fish to consume. They will also use bow and arrows to hunt land animals such as polar bears. They will also use their domesticated dogs to hunt for food for them to cook.
And they will use ice blocks and sheets of snow to make shelter to live in and keep warm, such as a hut or igloo.Pastoralism: Pastoralism is a subsistence pattern in which people make their living by tending herds of large animals.Explain: To explain Pastoralism; There is a different species of animals that vary with the region of the world. They are all domesticated herbivores that usually live in herds and eat a variety of grass, and/or other ample plant foods.
Example: An example of Pastoralism is; that back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the most traditional regions for pastoralists were Saami, Mongols, Masai and Kikuyu, and Zulus. Near the eastern Transhumance nomads would move their herd of sheep and goats to the highlands in the springtime. Horticulture: Horticulture is a small scale, low intensity farming.Explain: To explain Horticulture; it is a subsistence pattern that requires at least part time planting and aiding of the domesticated food plants.
There are chickens, pigs, and/or other relatively small domesticated animals that are often raised for food and status. A lot of horticultural societies enhance their farming subsistence base with sporadic gathering of wild plants/ animals, and hunting. Example: An example of Horticulture is that; pigs are raised for food and sell on a small Horticultural farm in Columbia.
The women from Papua New Guinea Horticultural village sell fruits/ vegetables in a town market that is on the smaller side.Intensive Agriculture: Intensive Agriculture is large scale, intensive farming. Which is a subsistence pattern characterized by full time farming in which large beasts of burden or highly mechanized farm equipment.
For example, rototillers and tractors are used to prepare the land for planting and later to harvest crops. Intensive agriculture usually involves the use of irrigation or other forms of water management. Typically there is mono cropping, which is done with heavy applications of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. This is a form of agriculture that is highly productive but generally capital intensive.Explain: To explain Intensive Agriculture, it is the primary subsistence pattern of large-scale, populous societies. Its end product ends with much more food producing per acre in comparison to the other subsistence patterns.
Example: An example of Intensive Agriculture is that there are tractors and rototillers used to assemble the land for planting and then later for harvesting crops. Another example would be of the rice production in China, which uses gas driven rototillers and vast amounts of hard labor for all the planting.
