Definition
Hunter-gatherers are people who feed themselves by foraging — hunting wild animals, fishing, and collecting wild plants, nuts, and roots — instead of growing crops or raising livestock. This was the way every human band lived before the rise of agriculture.
For more than 99 percent of human history, all humans were hunter-gatherers. The lifeway did not vanish with the coming of farming, either: some foraging societies persisted into modern times, and they remain a vital window into the human past.
Why it matters
How it works
A foraging band moved through a familiar landscape, harvesting different resources as the seasons changed and as game shifted. Because there were no granaries or fields, food was shared widely and possessions were few — owning more than one could carry was a burden, not an advantage.
This balance changed when some bands began to plant and tend the wild grasses they relied on. As foraging gave way to farming during the Neolithic, the mobile, egalitarian band slowly yielded to the settled village.