President Ramon Magsaysay State University

Iba, Zambales
GRADUATE SCHOOL
MAEd-Social Studies
2nd Trimester, Academic Year 2019-2020

Course Code/Title: SS302 – Selected Topics in the Social Studies

Presenters: Gehenna M. De Leon, Zendy A. Egmao, Beulah Doreen Tomarong-Cruz
Professor: Marie Fe de Guzman, Ed.D. (Professor V)

CATEGORIES OF CULTURE (Modes of Production and Subsistence Methods)

Objective/s:
 Explain people’s Modes of Production (foraging, pastoralism and cultivation) and/or
subsistence methods.

Introduction
 Modes of subsistence - the techniques used by the members of a society to obtain food.
Anthropologists classify subsistence into four broad categories: foraging, pastoralism,
horticulture, and agriculture
Modes of Production/Subsistence Methods
1. Production in Non-industrial Societies
a. Foraging
• sometimes known as hunting and gathering
• describes societies that rely primarily on “wild” plant and animal food resources
• used to be the number one mode of survival for humans
 Foraging was the most common mode of production for over 90% of the time that humans
have existed. However, it has become nearly extinct today, equaling approximately 1% in
terms of modes of production. The extinction of this production mode may be due, in part,
to the lack of land availability. In the past, and in some societies today, foraging is
responsible for the initiation and survival of cooperation.
 Foragers are also known as hunter-gatherers.
 As the foraging cultures move from location to location, the older women are responsible for
planting durable crops, grains, and tubers, as well as knowing when these plants will be
ready to harvest.
 Some of the goods that were normally foraged were from the coast, such as fish and
mollusk, and from the forest, honey, insect larva, fruit, palm fiber, and greens.
 An example of a foraging society is the Ju'Honsi of Kalahara. Another example of this
type of society would be the Huaorani, (Also called Waorani or Auca), an indigenous tribe
located in the Amazonian region of Ecuador.
 The main mode of production for this group of people is foraging and hunting. They have an
incredible knowledge of the trees and forestry in their area, as an extremely important part
of their culture (uses for hunting, medicine, and traditional ceremonies etc.) Although they
hunt animals, they do not hunt birds of prey or land-based hunters, and they hold special
ceremonies for each animal they kill before they eat it, in respect for the animal's spirit.
Their diet consists mainly of random vegetable matter, and these animals, with hardly any
agriculture, much less production with the view to export. It's a self-sustaining community
that moves from place to place in a small area.
 a.1. Correlates of Foraging
 Correlates of foraging commonly focuses on how individual groups go about foraging. Small
groups tend to be a band-organization of 30 to 50 people that are mobile by season; it
means they move from place to place depending on the season to assure their resources
aren't completely consumed.
 When hunting and gathering, groups make sure that they don't become too attached to a
piece of land because that could prevent them from moving on after the season has
passed.
a.2. The Original Affluent Society
 The term "original affluent society" was first coined by anthropologist Marshall Sahlins13
to refer to foragers who, he argued, lived in societies of "affluence." Sahlins defined
affluence as "having more than enough of whatever is required to satisfy consumption
needs."
 He believed affluence could be obtained in two ways: by producing much or by desiring
little; the latter is the path taken by foragers. As a result of this lifestyle, foragers are
theoretically free from the characteristically western element of greed — therefore, the
concept of wealth is nonexistent, or at least irrelevant.

b. Cultivation
 the process of growing plants on arable land, and usually refers to large scale
farming
 requirements of cultivation are land, water, and seed for growing
 involves the sowing of the seeds in the appropriate season
 In the process of cultivation, a farmer is often required to also initially till the land, weed
control, and ultimately harvest the crops. In the modern age, this practice has been
developed into the professional art of agronomy, and may be analyzed by specialized
agronomists to maximize efficiency. Soil cultivation refers specifically to the tilling of the soil,
such as by ploughing, to prepare the soil for planting and to control weeds.

b.1. Horticulture

 a subsistence system based on the small-scale cultivation of crops intended

primarily for the direct consumption of the household or immediate community.
 The process began following basic foraging systems in history. People began growing
specific crops, instead of only hunting and gathering in the surrounding lands
 The main concept of horticulture is the growing of crops and useful trees in forest areas,
with long fallow periods in between. A fallow period is a season when cultivated land is left
untilled after plowing (ploughing).
 Horticulture also uses slash and burn techniques to clear land for cultivation. The rights of
the land were open to the group, and the way to claim land is to actively use it. This is a
simple and small-scale form of agriculture, and used in areas with a low population density.
 Horticulturist societies have around 160 people per square kilometer. The main crops they
produce/ use are vegetables, grains and roots. Every person usually works around 15-20
hours a week, and the work is distributed by sex and age group. Children have an important
 role in a horticultural society because they weed and plant seeds, and collect water and
firewood.
 The Yanamamo (population living in the Amazon Rainforest in the hills between Brazil and
Venezuela. They are the largest population of native people in South America.) is an
example of a horticulturist society.

Ya̧nomamö shabono

 Living with their kin and marriage lineages, the Yanamamo live in a communal system
consisting of groups of 50 to 400 people. The village stays within the shabono, which are
oval shaped houses that are around 100 yards long. Everyone lives in the same Shabono,
which they build out of materials found in the jungle, which makes it very susceptible to the
elements. They primarily harvest bananas through slash and burn horticulture. They also
practice polygamy and have one of the lowest levels of blood pressure of any demographic.
Many anthropologists believe the Yanomamo to be the last culture to come in contact with
the modern world. They don't have a writing system, wear minimal clothing and practice
polygamy. The Yanomamo hold complex religious ideas centered on their belief of the four
levels of reality (duku ka misi, hedu ka mis, hei ka misi,and hei ta bebi). Their religion is
heavily based on "the use of hallucinogenic drugs and the telling of mythical tales".

 Horticulture has been used for thousands of years, first in the Middle East and later in
South America. Some common products of horticultural societies include grains and manioc
tubers.

b.2. Agriculture

 The transition from foraging to farming has been described as the Neolithic
Revolution. Neolithic means “new stone age,” a name referring to the very different
looking stone tools produced during this time period.
  The Neolithic was characterized by an explosion of new technologies, not all of them
made from stone, which were geared toward agricultural tasks, rather than hunting
or processing gathered plant foods. These new tools included scythes for harvesting
plants, and adzes or hoes for tilling the soil.
 the production of food and goods by means of forestry and farming.
 its defining feature is land ownership (and if not ownership, than very detailed and
socially enforced use rights) in addition to water rights.
 One significant result of agriculture is that it led to the development of civilizations, seeing
as animals were domesticated and plants (crops) were maintained; this in turn, created
food surpluses that paved the way to form more stratified societies with larger populations.
Because this helped to develop societies, it is a given that there was a sudden need for
higher level rule enforcement through social institutions, private property, and stored
wealth/stealing, which again, furthered the development of societies within civilizations
 Technology has played a key role in the development of agriculture. Because technology
advances with time, the uses and tools used in agriculture have developed and advanced
as well.
 The "family farm" run by a household is disappearing and is replaced by industrialized
farms. Industrialized farms are form of agriculture that are much more efficient and can
more easily adapt economically to global changes and demands than the traditional and
old-fashioned "family farm". Hence is why they are outselling them and in turn, replacing
them as our nation's form of agriculture.

c. Pastoralism
 defined as the herding of domesticated or partially domesticated animals
 the raising of herds of farm animals, especially as a food source.
 The basis for pastoralism is movement. They do not have a distinct home since they are all
a nomadic society. Their home is where their animals go. They rely on movement to keep
their animals alive and since they move seasonally there is always water and food available
to the animals they are herding. They must keep their animals alive to keep themselves
alive because Pastoralists rely on the animals they herd for food and clothing. They are
also able to utilize their animal's droppings for fire and sometimes using them for
transportation purpose.
 Pastoralist societies tend to live in rural and harsh landscapes where no other form of
production is possible. The people’s animals become their culture, for without their animals
their culture would not exist.
 An example of a pastoral nomadic society is the Reindeer herders of Siberia. They roam
around northern Mongolia. The herders, known as the Tsaschin, or Dukha, rely on their
animals for transportation, and for the staples of their diet: milk, cheese, yoghurt and dried
milk curds. These people hold rights to the reindeer as a group. They depend on one
another to stick together and build their herd larger in order for survival in rural Mongolia.
One could also think about the way that a pastoral society could work in synchronicity with
agricultural society. A pastoral society could bring their animals down from the mountains (if
they lived in a climate similar to the one above) and the animals could feed on the weeds
and remains following a harvest. Their excrement could help to fertilize the soil for the next
season, and the animals could receive nutrition.
 Societies that use pastoralism as a subsistence method can either be nomadic, partly-
nomadic, or settled. Nomadic pastoralists follow herds of animals through their seasonal
routes to obtain resources from them year-round. Partly-nomadic pastoralists also exist,
 and involve a part of the group leaving to travel with the herd, and the other part staying at
home. Most pastoral societies eventually became fully settled, where animals were raised
on the same land as the settlement.
REFERENCES:
Shear, I. (n.d.) Subsistence. Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-
culturalanthropology/chapter/subsistence/
Explorable.com (2015) Subsistence. Retrieved from https://explorable.com/subsistence
en.wikibooks.org (2013) Cultural Anthropology. page 260-268