Hunter-gatherer

A hunter-gatherer society is in anthropological terms one whose predominant method of subsistence involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild (or "foraging"), without significant recourse to the domestication of either. The demarcation between hunter-gatherers and other societies which rely on more managed techniques such as agriculturalism and pastoralism is not a clean one, as many societies typically utilise a range of strategies to obtain the foodstuffs required to sustain their community.

Problems with generalizing

The line between agricultural and hunter-gatherer societies is not clear cut. Many hunter-gatherers consciously manipulate the landscape through cutting or burning undesireable plants while encouraging desireable ones. Agriculturalists also hunt and gather (e.g. farming during the growing season and hunting during the winter). Still today many in developed countries will go hunting for food and for leisure.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~