Final answer:
Original homo sapiens, had a gatherer-hunter lifestyle, working roughly three to four days a week for their basic necessities. Their knowledge of the environment and available resources filled their needs and allowed them relatively abundant free time. Knowledge of their lifestyle is largely based on interpretation of limited archaeological finds and educated speculation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Our ancestors, the original homo sapiens, worked fewer hours per week than many modern societies do today. This is due to the lifestyle they employed,which was primarily based on gathering and hunting. Archaeologists and anthropologists who have studied these groups have found that the typical gatherer-hunter worked an average of about three to four days a week in search of food.
These gatherer-hunters were part of what anthropologist Marshall Sahlins refers to as 'the original affluent society'. They relied on their thorough knowledge of the environment, the behavior and biology of the game animals, and the availability of seasonal vegetation to meet their subsistence needs. Once the resources of an area were depleted, they had to pack their belongings and move to a new area where resources were plentiful.
It's important to note, however, that our understanding of these early societies is primarily based on conjecture, educated speculation, and extrapolation from a relatively limited number of archaeological finds and material remnants of our distant ancestors. The gaps in our knowledge result from the fact that archaeological records reveal very little about social structures and cultural values of these early humans.
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