Chapter Three
3. The Evolution of Human-Environment Interactions
Ecology and evolutionary biology are considered sister disciplines of the life sciences. Natural
selection, life history, development, adaptation, populations, and inheritance are examples of
concepts that thread equally into ecological and evolutionary theory. Morphological, behavioral,
and genetic traits, for example, can be mapped onto evolutionary trees to study the historical
development of a species in relation to their functions and roles in different ecological
circumstances.
In this framework, the analytical tools of ecologists and evolutionists overlap as they organize,
classify, and investigate life through common systematic principals, such as phylogenetic or the
Linnaean system of taxonomy. The two disciplines often appear together, such as in the title of
the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution.
There is no sharp boundary separating ecology from evolution, and they differ more in their
areas of applied focus. Both disciplines discover and explain emergent and unique properties and
processes operating across different spatial or temporal scales of organization. While the
boundary between ecology and evolution is not always clear, ecologists study the abiotic and
biotic factors that influence evolutionary processes, and evolution can be rapid change, occurring
on ecological timescales as short as one generation.
To help understand how modern society evolved in their environment, anthropologists and
sociologists find it useful to distinguish societies according to their type of economy and
technology. One of the most useful schemes distinguishes the following types of societies:
hunting-and-gathering, horticultural, pastoral, agricultural, and industrial (Nolan & Lenski,
2009). Some scholars add a final type, postindustrial, to the end of this list.
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Summary of Societal Development
Type of society Key characteristics
These are small, simple societies in which people hunt and gather food. Because
Hunting-and-
all people in these societies have few possessions, the societies are fairly
gathering
egalitarian, and the degree of inequality is very low.
Horticultural and pastoral societies are larger than hunting-and-gathering
societies. Horticultural societies grow crops with simple tools, while pastoral
Horticultural
societies raise livestock. Both types of societies are wealthier than hunting-and-
and pastoral
gathering societies, and they also have more inequality and greater conflict than
hunting-and-gathering societies.
These societies grow great numbers of crops, thanks to the use of plows, oxen,
Agricultural and other devices. Compared to horticultural and pastoral societies, they are
wealthier and have a higher degree of conflict and of inequality.
Industrial societies feature factories and machines. They are wealthier than
Industrial agricultural societies and have a greater sense of individualism and a somewhat
lower degree of inequality that still remains substantial.
These societies feature information technology and service jobs. Higher
Postindustrial
education is especially important in these societies for economic success.
[Link]-gatherers
Beginning about 250,000 years ago, hunting-and-gathering societies are the oldest ones we know
of; few of them remain today, partly because modern societies have encroached on their
existence. As the name hunting-and-gathering implies, people in these societies both hunt for
food and gather plants and other vegetation. They have few possessions other than some simple
hunting-and-gathering equipment. To ensure their mutual survival, everyone is expected to help
find food and also to share the food they find. To seek their food, hunting-and-gathering peoples
often move from place to place. Because they are nomadic, their societies tend to be quite small,
often consisting of only a few dozen people.
Communities with an acquiring or extracting mode of subsistence are generally referred to as
foragers or hunters/gatherers/collectors. Their nutritional basis primarily consists of wild plants
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and animals and their implements are manufactured from naturally occurring materials. There is
generally no cultivation of domesticated species, i.e. the hunting and gathering mode of
subsistence implies a lack of direct human control over the reproduction of exploited species
(Panter-Brick et al. 2001). Key properties of their economy are ecological in nature (Winter
halder 2001). Foraging communities consist of a few nuclear families that form groups of rarely
more than 50 individuals. Size and composition are flexible and characterized by fission and
fusion, leading to a changeable membership. This peripatetic way of life is adjusted to the
opportunities of exploiting seasonally available food resources and requires high mobility in
large home-ranges. It usually varies in connection with habitat-specific requirements, as the
group may divide, for example in order to procure food at different places in the habitat. Despite
this loose and variable structure, the family is still the central unit of social organization. Usually
there is no reinvestment in the maintenance of existing resources, so that a temporary or
complete exhaustion of resources can occur.
Because of the nomadic way of life, material possessions are few: the tool kit shows little
specialization and is universally applicable. Division of labor is neither vocational nor based on a
specialization relating to crafts, but is complementarily organized according to gender and/or age
groups. Hunting is traditionally part of the men’s sphere, while women are engaged in collecting
food and doing the majority of household work. However, this is not a strict pattern and
exceptions or reversals do occur and are socially sanctioned (e.g. Noss and Hewlett 2001). In
fact, there is considerable overlap in male and female subsistence tasks, with the only notable
exception being big game hunting, which appears to be confined to men across cultures
(Brightman 1996). In Inuit societies, for example, girls may be trained as hunters while boys can
be called upon for tasks within the domestic range, depending on each individual family’s sex
ratio.
As the household forms the basic economic unit, collected food goes to the respective
households, whilst bag is usually divided among all group members, securing an even supply of
animal protein. The political organization is characterized by an absence of formally defined
positions of leadership, although an informal guidance of the primus inter pares type is common.
Such an individual would not enforce orders, but receive status as an esteemed counsellor solely
from individual achievement and experience.
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Decisions, such as those referring to the relocation of camps or a move to new resource-sites, are
negotiated and discussed in an equal and general manner, so that information travels fast
between group members. The organization of groups is egalitarian (or a cephalic), i.e. there is no
social stratification from which auditing rights over resources could be derived. Thus, there is
free access to resources for all group members.
The political economy does not encompass added value or a dependent clientele. There is no
personalized property of land or resources, yet people do have material possessions, also in
relation to subsistence. A weir built by one or more families, for example, justifies exclusive use
of the caught fish, but other families can be granted joint rights of use. The catchment area has
no strict notion of territory attached to it, but is rather regarded as a home-range. Its use is
primarily exclusive for the respective resident group, but rights of use for other groups are
negotiable.
Aggressive conflicts take the form of feuds and are settled individually or through small-scale
group encounters, while more comprehensive conflicts against enemies violating the home-range
are possible. Whilst these general characteristics apply to a large number of non-specialized
hunter/gatherers, e.g. Australian aborigines or! Kung, it is worth mentioning special forms which
owe their existence to specific adaptations of food acquisition caused by peculiarities of certain
natural units. They are facilitated by the relatively reliable seasonal occurrence of food resources,
which may consequently lead to storage, specialized technologies or even different forms of
socio-political organization. This applies to so-called specialized hunters, for example native
Americans of the North American prairies or Inuit, a substantial part of whose base of living
depends on hunting for bison or sea mammals and caribou, respectively.
In Inuit societies, the necessity for expert knowledge and experience required for hunting led to
the establishment of positions of formal leadership, e.g. as in whaling captains for the co-
ordination and lead of whale hunts. Reliable occurrences of an adromous fish allowed Native
Americans of the northwest coast (e.g. Haida, Kwakiutl, Chinook) to establish permanent
settlements that were able to sustain population sizes otherwise only known in agricultural
societies. Specialized gatherers (collectors), e.g. Paiute or Shoshone, acquired techniques for
using seasonally abundant vegetable food, such as acorns and piñon nuts, which are not edible in
a raw state but by preservation through roasting are turned into a reliable food resource.
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Moreover, collector communities also exhibit transitory developments towards the domestication
of plants. Compared with ‘classic’ foragers, these societies developed a pronounced social
differentiation in connection with an elaborate form of storage techniques.
[Link] and Horticulturalists
Horticulture is the small scale cultivation using simple tools such as digging stick and hoe rather
than plows for production of varieties of plant species on garden based cultivable land. In
horticultural societies, people use hoes and other simple hand tools to raise crops.
It indicates an agricultural technique which is marked by the use of simple devices, such as
digging sticks or hoes, but not ploughs or draft animals. The diversity of cultivated and
domesticated plants, the technologies applied and the subsistence strategies employed is high and
varies according to the expenditure of time and energetic investment spent on food production.
Social organization covers a wide range of principles, from forager communities to regional
farming polities. Because of this high diversity, this mode of production will be described in very
general terms only. Laying out and managing fields and gardens, i.e. investment in the
environment aimed at food production, requires a minimum of local constancy. Therefore, there
is a tendency towards (usually temporary) permanence of Subsistence Modes settlement; and the
more reliable supply of cultivated food items allows larger group sizes and higher population
densities.
However, horticulture often involves extensive land use, so that higher demand for land leads to
increased spatial dispersion of hamlets or villages. Especially when slash-and-burn agriculture
(or shifting cultivation), the most frequent and space-craving mode of horticultural production, is
practiced, arable land becomes the limiting factor within the system. Without additional influx of
matter, e.g. manure or fertilizer to improve soil quality, the land is quickly exhausted and a
fallow time of 15–20 years is necessary to allow for complete regeneration of the soil in tropical
habitats.
Intensive cultivation, in contrast, is characterized by the preservation of soil fertility at the site,
e.g. through different ways of fertilization, allowing the formation of larger economic units with
less group mobility and fewer changes in place of residence. Work in the fields and gardens is
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organized according to a gender-based division of labor. The necessity to implement a co-
operative and durable mode of food production leads to an increasing significance of social
organizations beyond the family framework. The structure of the society is based on relatively
stable corporate descent groups at local and regional levels. There are vested titles in produced
goods and commodities and communal titles in terms of crops and arable land, thus providing the
conditions for social stratification.
Political organization varies from incipient formation of institutions, for example in the New
Guinean highland, to complex state systems such as in Polynesia. In any case, the concentration
of people, land and produce requires more clearly defined executive functions, which are
practiced by persons of institutionalized authority. Territoriality is pronounced and is related to
both the intensity of cultivation and the availability of land.
[Link], Agro-pastoralists and Pastoralists
3.3.1. Agriculture and Agriculturalists
Agriculture is intensive cultivation which differs from horticulture. It is an adaptive strategy
based on complex technology such as animal and machine for intensive and continuous use of
land to produce plant foods.
Agricultural societies developed some 5,000 years ago in the Middle East, thanks to the
invention of the plow. When pulled by oxen and other large animals, the plow allowed for much
more cultivation of crops than the simple tools of horticultural societies permitted. The wheel
was also invented about the same time, and written language and numbers began to be used. The
development of agricultural societies thus marked a watershed in the development of human
society. Ancient Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome were all agricultural societies, and India and
many other large nations today remain primarily agricultural.
Food production in agricultural systems is commonly characterized by a substantial investment
of time and energy in the environment. Depending on the overall ecological or habitat conditions
of environments principally suitable for agriculture, a number of different subsistence modes
develop, which are related to certain technological achievements, e.g. agriculture employing
ploughs, paddies or terraced fields. This diversity is also reflected in the sociopolitical systems.
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Frequently, agriculture and the presence of other technical developments, such as metalworking,
the wheel or larger edifices, are correlated. A crucial factor of agricultural production is a
reliable natural or artificial water supply, as well as the use of beasts of burden or draft animals.
Local groups generally settle permanently and their composition is fairly stable. An increased
requirement of workers and the possibility to supply larger numbers of people with produced
food leads to higher population densities and larger populations. Regional and national polities
are a regular feature, often associated with central rule where individuals of clearly defined
authority serve political institutions.
The social organization is complex and accompanied by differentiated social stratification within
a society, which among other things is characterized by differential access to resources and non-
equitable possession of property. Claims of ownership and property for land or livestock play an
increasing role. There is a pronounced division of labor; and professional specialization leads to
the emergence of vocation-related groups or guilds within the society. Both property and the
control of use and access to resources entail fully developed territoriality. Frequently, agriculture
is connected with urbanization, which eventually leads to the establishment of farming
communities or estates; and the production of surplus is distributed in markets to supply the non-
farming (urban) population.
3.3.2. Agro-pastoralists
Agro-pastoralists may be described as settled pastoralists who cultivate sufficient areas to feed
their families from their own crop production. They hold land rights, use their own or hired labor
to cultivate land and grow staples. While livestock are still valued property, their herds are on
average smaller than other pastoral systems, possibly because they no longer solely rely on
livestock and depend on a finite grazing area around their village which can be reached within a
day. They make greater investment in housing and other local infrastructure and if their herds
become large, they often send them away with more nomadic pastoralists.
Agro-pastoralism is often also the key to interaction between the sedentary and mobile
communities. Sharing the same ethno-linguistic identity with the pastoralists they often act as
brokers in establishing cattle-tracks, negotiating the ‘camping’ of herds on farms, which
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potentially exchanges crop residues for valuable manure, and arranging for the rearing of work
animals which adds value to overall agricultural production.
3.3.3. Pastoralism and Pastoralists
The pastoralist mode of production and way of life is shaped by keeping and breeding
domesticated livestock. In pastoral societies, people raise and herd sheep, goats, camels, and
other domesticated animals and use them as their major source of food and also, depending on
the animal, as a means of transportation. Typically occurring in the Old World, animal
husbandry can be found in the New World, albeit often caused by contact with invading
European settlers, for example in subsistence systems based on sheep-breeding (Navajo) or
horse-keeping (Plains Indians). South America, however, has a long indigenous tradition of
camelid husbandry.
Pastoralism requires the neighborhood and complement of agriculture to be sustainable, since
vital goods such as salt or vegetable products must be acquired from farmers by means of trade
or tribute payments. Pastoralists, despite being primarily nomadic are often found to complement
their food procurement with seasonal subsistence agriculture, especially in savannah
environments.
Pastoralism is a special techno-economic type of food production based on animal husbandry.
Because there are so many habitat-specific adaptations, it is difficult to find a uniform definition.
Vertical nomadism, or transhumance, would be an example for a specialized form, practiced in
mountainous areas, where during the summer herds and herders stay on meadows at high
altitudes, such as alpine pasture, while during the winter the animals are kept in the more
protected valleys. Typically, pastoralism is found in arid or semiarid areas, steppes and
savannahs, or in tundra areas.
Suitable pasture and water are limiting factors of these habitats, whose accessibility is decisive
for the periodic or seasonal mobility of populations. The animals bred and kept vary with the
environmental conditions of biomes and endemic species, for example cattle and camels in east
Africa, reindeer in Lapland. Whatever animals are kept, the human population is supplied with a
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variety of raw materials (wool, hides), food (milk, milk products, blood, meat) and even a means
of transport (pack and riding animals).
Pastoral communities are relatively small, usually consisting of several households only; and
group composition is flexible depending on economic requirement. The division of labor is
essentially based on a gender-related separation of tasks for the supply of livestock, but without a
strict pattern. Usually, there is no or only little specialization in labor, since products that
cannot be manufactured by the group have to be obtained from neighboring farmers or travelling
traders.
Social organization tends to be egalitarian but may vary with respect to social stratification and
the existence of larger corporate groups. Territoriality is understood in general terms and is
related to the area used by the entire community, although individual groups may establish rights
of access and use with respect to certain areas. But, the necessary extensive nature of land use
can lead to martial expansion and/or violent defense of the pasture.
[Link]-industrial societies
Industrial societies are named after the ever-increasing use of industrialization and machinery to
innovate and make scientific and technological advances. Industrial societies began through the
industrialization of the textile industry.
The industrialization definition distinguishes industrialized countries from "developing" or
"underdeveloped" countries because it means that a nation has developed an economy and
society that focuses on industry and produces goods via mass production.
There are several defining characteristics of industrialized societies, including large urban
centers, the tertiary sector (the service sector) of their economies, large-scale organizations
(companies and corporations), and mass production. Industrial societies are also characterized as
self-sustaining and self-perpetuating. Since industrial societies manufacture goods for
themselves, and oftentimes for trade, the society's economy is able to support itself.
Additionally, factory work and distribution also create many entry-level jobs, further boosting
the economy since more money is in the hands of the people and circulating throughout the
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society. This promotes consumerism. Additionally, the need for a less skilled workforce to
complete tasks means that less time and resource is spent training and fixing mistakes. This
increases overall company productivity which allows for more products to be produced in a
shorter amount of time than in the previous eras.
The methods used by industrialized societies to get goods to the market involve mass production,
which is also called "Fordism" after Henry Ford. Mass production involves dividing work so that
each person does a straightforward task, which can be done to a higher standard. As mass
production increased and technology improved, assembly lines that were manned by people
could be taken over by machinery, freeing people to do other jobs within the company. In
modern-day, most assembly lines use a combination of machinery and manpower.
Postindustrial Societies
We are increasingly living in what has been called the information technology age (or just
information age), as wireless technology vies with machines and factories as the basis for our
economy. Compared to industrial economies, we now have many more service jobs, ranging
from housecleaning to secretarial work to repairing computers. Societies in which this transition
is happening are moving from an industrial to a postindustrial phase of development.
In postindustrial societies, then, information technology and service jobs have replaced machines
and manufacturing jobs as the primary dimension of the economy (Bell, 1999). If the car was the
sign of the economic and social times back in the 1920s, then the smartphone or netbook/laptop
is the sign of the economic and social future in the early years of the 21st century. If the factory
was the dominant workplace at the beginning of the 20th century, with workers standing at their
positions by conveyor belts, then cell phone, computer, and software companies are dominant
industries at the beginning of the 21st century, with workers, almost all of them much better
educated than their earlier factory counterparts, huddled over their wireless technology at home,
at work, or on the road. In short, the Industrial Revolution has been replaced by the Information
Revolution, and we now have what has been called an information society (Hassan,
2008).Hassan, R. (2008).
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