Pastoral Societies
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 |
Hunting and
Gathering Societies |
Hunting and gathering societies are the simplest types of
societies in which people rely on readily available vegetation
and hunted game for subsistence. Only a few people can be
supported in any given area in such subsistence societies.
Hence they usually have no more than 40 members or so, must be
nomadic, and have little or no division of labor.
All societies began as hunting and gathering societies. These
societies were still common until a few hundred years ago. Today
only a few remain, including pygmies in central Africa and aborigines
in Australia. Most of the rest have had their territory overrun by
other forms of society.
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