Hunter-Gatherer Societies.

The Encyclopædia Britannica entry on hunter-gatherers describes them as small, mobile human groups who subsist by foraging wild plants and hunting or fishing, a lifestyle dominant until about 12,000 years ago when agriculture emerged. Historically numbering around 10 million during the Pleistocene, their population has dwindled to roughly 100,000 today, largely due to habitat loss from modern development. These societies typically feature egalitarian structures with fluid leadership based on skill, minimal material accumulation, and strong kinship ties, contrasting with sedentary societies’ hierarchies. Foraging requires extensive ecological knowledge, and groups adapt flexibly to seasonal resource shifts, often covering vast ranges like the 1,000-mile treks of Australia’s Arrernte. Archaeological evidence, such as 1.5-million-year-old Olduvai Gorge tools, and studies of modern groups like the Hadza and !Kung, reveal a diet split of about 60-70% plant-based and 30-40% meat, supplemented by trade with outsiders. While romanticized as “original affluent societies” for their leisure time, hunter-gatherers face challenges like high infant mortality and vulnerability to environmental shifts, with many now transitioning to mixed economies under global pressures.