SOC 3470 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Spear-Thrower, Infant Mortality
6 Oct 2016
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Hunting and gathering summary: (human beginnings - 8,000 bc) Will soon go extinct because they cannot compete for resources with more technologically advanced societies. Have slowly merged into more successful biophysical and social environments. Use of symbols brought a cultural revolution. Few possessions due to their subsistence technology. If you move a lot you have to share. Women were not property and had considerable influence in the group. More than 85% of diet comes from hunting-gathering. Bow and arrow (more accurate and powerful) Magic to cause pain or pregnancy (like voodoo dolls, but with cave paintings) Advances in technology led to population growth which led to an increased need for food which led to an increased rate of innovation. No full time jobs, just part-time specialization. The family was the most complex economic organization. Headman = leader, but couldn"t really expand power. Limited rules or regulations, more informal norms. Blood revenge = individual punishes an individual himself.
