Final answer:
The term mode of subsistence is used by anthropologists to describe the various methods societies have developed to obtain food and meet their basic needs, such as foraging, pastoralism, and horticulture. These modes also shape social roles, trade systems, and cultural values. Gathering-hunting, pastoralism, plant cultivation, and industrialism/post-industrialism are the four primary modes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mode of Subsistence
Anthropologists describe the methods by which people get food, such as foraging, pastoralism, and horticulture, using the term mode of subsistence. This concept refers to the different ways societies interact with their environments to meet their basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, and health. Throughout human history, four main modes of subsistence have been employed: gathering-hunting, pastoralism, plant cultivation, and industrialism/post-industrialism.
Gathering-hunting, or hunter-gatherer societies, rely on natural resources and are known for being highly mobile and egalitarian. Pastoral societies, like the Bedouin, manage herds and are also mobile, but they can accumulate wealth in the form of animals. Agricultural societies engage in horticulture or intensive farming, leading to settled communities and the development of cities and specializations.
These modes of subsistence are fundamental to understanding human evolution as well as social and cultural development. They not only provide the necessities for survival but also shape social roles, trading systems, and cultural values. For example, a reliance on hunting-gathering has historically resulted in more leisure time compared to agrarian lifestyles.