Week 4: Subsistence and Economy

Part 1: Hunter- Gatherers vs. Agriculture

Hunter Gatherers
Hunter gatherers have a more balanced and nutritional diet due to their bodies not growing immune to any specific foods. Since they are able to eat different foods, they are less likely to experience famine and malnutrition. They stay in small groups, making it easier to feed everyone. Since there isn't such a high demand of food, hunter gathered are able to have more social time after gathering their food. On the other end, hunter gatheres constantly move because they have to follow the food. Hunter gatherers sometimes live miles away from water making it hard to collect water. The Zulu is a hunter gatherer tribe whose women spend lots of their time on walks to get water. Although groups are small, there is still a chance that not enough food is gathered.

 Agriculture
Agriculture is powered by fuel, making it less labor for people. The machines are able to provide a surplus of food, giving more of a supply for trade and selling. With less time spent on collecting food, it gives more times to bettering settlements and lands. The increase of settlements brought more population and a more organized community. Since agriculture only provides a small variety of foods, people become less immune to new foods. They are more subject to famine and diseases due to their immune systems becoming immune to the same foods. Also agriculture is moreso based off of seasons, so if there are any problems with weather, terr could be problems with growing crops.

 Whose healthier?
 It is said that hunter gatherers have healthier diets. Since they do have a set diet, or a limited diet, their bodies are able to eat more foods. Agriculture only allows curtains foods to be farmed which makes your body only able to eat those foods. Also hunter gatherers are far more active than those living in farming societies. They spend a lot of time either out hunting for food, moving to be closer to food, or preparing the food & collecting water. Farming societies don't have to spend so much time on the food, since it is all fuel powered.

Why agriculture? 
I think human populations moved to agriculture mainly for its convenience. With agriculture, you do not have to worry about finding the food and moving closer to the food, it simply prepared the food for you. Since people were able to spend less time on hunting, it has made more time for families, gaining material goods, and leisure time. Also the surplus of food and increase in trading and selling. Once realized that agriculture can make more food and take less time, it almost makes too much sense to not switch to agriculture.


Part 2: Economy vs. Trade
There is a direct relationship between the availability of surplus and the ability to trade means without surplus you cannot trade. You need supply to provide for the demand. The availability of a good, especially when the good is easy for you to get or grow, that creates the ability to trade and sell.


Social Benefits
A social benefit from trade is the social interaction. Usually in trade, people are trading a good they are able to grow with a good they cannot grow, due to soil, weather, etc. Since the people you are trading with aren't from the same place, they are able to socialize and meet people from different cultures, that also speak different languages. Another benefit would be the increase in population and settlements. With less time spent on hunting and moving, people living in these farm societies were able to spend more time on building their land. Due to the success of farms, more people are coming to these lands to also begin farming themselves.

Social Disadvantages
A social disadvantage is there can be a conflict in trading. When there is no money involved and goods are just exchanged, this is called barter. Bartering causes disagreement on the price and terms of the deal made. If money is involved, two parties can still have disagreements on what is being sold. Another disadvantage would be communication and language. When trading with people from different cultures, it may be difficult to communicate with one another due to language barriers. Because of the language difference, traders will begin their own form of language making it universal for them all to understand. With an increase in trade, this will slowly loose the cultures and their languages.
Relationship Between Agriculture and Trade
 My answer to question #1 stated that with the availability of a good, there is the ability to trade. With the development of agriculture, it has given an increase in supply. That increase in supply has made an increase in the ability to trade. There is now a surplus of goods to trade, due to the switch from food foraging to agriculture.