Preindustrial Societies

The culture and social structure of a society are greatly affected by the way the society provides for basic needs.

A society is any group of people who live in defined territorial borders and share a common culture.

All societies share patterned and predictable social relationships that are passed from generation to generation.

The different ways in which societies meet their members’ basic needs, such as the needs for food and shelter, form the basis of a system that anthropologists often use to classify societies.

Preindustrial societies can be independent and selfsufficient.

Types of Preindustrial Society

• Hunting and Gathering Societies

• Horticultural Societies

• Pastoral Societies

• Agricultural Societies

Hunter Gatherer

• A hunting and gathering society survives by hunting animals and gathering edible fruits and vegetables.

• Hunting and gathering societies are usually nomadic, moving as the food supply changes with the seasons.

• They tend to be small and most members are related by blood or marriage.

• These societies have little or no idea of private property or ownership; as a result, they have no social classes.

• There is no political authority, which requires other methods for conflict resolution.

Horticultural

• A horticultural society solves the subsistence problem primarily through using simple tools to grow plants.

• The shift from hunting and gathering to horticulture, or gardening, led to more permanent settlements.

• The family is even more basic to horticultural societies than to hunting and gathering societies.

• In horticultural societies, primary emphasis is on the survival of family members and all family members contribute to food production.

Pastoral

• In pastoral societies, food is obtained primarily by raising and caring for domesticated, or tamed, animals such as cattle, camels, goats, and sheep.

• Although migration is a key feature of pastoral societies, some have long-term villages and simply move their herd animals to different pastures within a given area at different times of year.

• These societies tend to be male dominated.

• Like horticultural societies, pastoral societies produce surpluses and have social inequality as a result.

Agricultural

• An agricultural society, like a horticultural society, subsists by growing food.

• Since agricultural societies use plows and domesticated animals, which boost crop production, more people are free to engage in noneconomic activities such as education and the arts.

• With a surplus of food production, cities can be built and occupations appear that are not directly tied to food production.

• New political, economic, and religious institutions also emerge in agricultural societies.