Anthropology › Section G · Economic anthropology › Topic G.2
Modes of subsistence
Every human group has to turn its surroundings into food, shelter, clothing and medicine. Anthropologists call the way it does so a mode of subsistence, and comparing modes helps explain why societies differ in mobility, property, work and values.
In this topic
- Making a living from the environment
- What every mode must organise
- Four main modes
- Other ways to classify
- Mixing modes
- Intensification
- Worked example: reading field notes
- Not a ladder
- Worked example: farming in an industrial world
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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