Subsistence and Economy

1   1.   Identify the benefits of both subsistence patterns. (10 pts)

      Hunter Gathering life is hard but there are some benefits living this life pattern , one of those benefits is they hunt meat which has high calories than other food type, so hunting on animal is enough for couple days, which mean they don’t have to spend much time working on gathering their food, so couple hours a day is enough. Fur of animals is expensive, they are not only using the animal for food but also using its fur for clothes and trading, plus animal bones for tools and other uses, Animals also provided milk and eggs, good sources of protein .Agricultural societies is Hard life as well but also has benefits, settlement is one of those benefits , farmers don’t have to move on when they the food runs out, by becoming more stable they develop towns and buildings, which helps them to be more independent and protect them from enemies. Developing town also helps them develop governments, technology and education.

2. Identify the costs (or disadvantages) of both subsistence patterns.  (10 pts)

            Although there are benefits living as a hunter gather or Agriculture, there are also disadvantages ,Agricultures used to burn forest to start  their farm, Fertility of the soil begins to decline after 2 to 3 years , which means they have to move on to another farm and burn more forests ,eventually this process result in deforestation . Agricultural life is very expensive, farming and soiling the farm are big money and time consumers. Less mobility agriculture societies have to stay in one geographical area and wait till the crops are ready to harvest .seasonal crops waiting till the harvesting time, depending on rain if the season has less rain than normal the harvest amounts would be less than expected and if it’s totally dry the corps will not survive and have to wait even more time to harvest. Hunting and gathering life is not guaranteed, they could go a whole day hunting but not get a single animal. This type of life depends mainly on men, women cannot hunt an elephant. Hunting huge mammal is very dangerous .Hunters rely on same kind of food, No variety of food can cause health problems, for example Eskimos can rely only of fish.

3. Which subsistence pattern provides a healthier diet?  Explain. (5 pts)

Hunting allow hunters to collect seafood, eggs, nuts, and fruits, all those types of food are full of vitamins and minerals, while agricultures only depends on vegetables and fruits which is also valuable in minerals and fibers but not enough.

4. Discuss why you think some human populations made the transition into agriculture? (5 pts)

Human population made the transition into agricultures because of the settlement, they don’t have to keep traveling looking for food, settling down helped them develop and live a classier life.

Part 2:  Economics and Trade:

1. There is a direct relationship between the availability of surplus and the ability to trade.  Explain the meaning of this statement. (5 pts)

The availability of surplus id the requirements to be able to trade, if they had short on their supplies of food, they will not be able to trade it, since they need it themselves. But vice versa relation ship is there as well, they had to be able to trade so they have surplus of supplies.

2. Identify and describe two (2) social benefits of trade.  (5 pts)

Trade helps social life, it create a social life between trader’s families which mean developing their life style and expanding their relations which cause to growth and economic benefits. Another benefits is by trading it helps people gaining all varieties of supplies, trades between farmers and hunters helps both side’s health, they trade meat for vegetables, so both societies will have both kinds which will help improving their health.

3. Identify and describe two (2) negative social results of the development of trade.  (5 pts)

Trades sometime cause to conflicts between tribes , another negative social result is their might be something called unfair trades which means that one tribe might trade an expensive valuable thing by another cheap thing just because of the need of it.

4. Given your answer in the question #1, explain the relationship between the developments of agriculture and the development of trade.  (5 pts)

The relationship is proportional because more agricultural productions causes more trades development in all kinds, and vice versa .