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Foraging is the oldest subsistence pattern, with all human societies relying on it until approximately 10,000 years ago. [2] Foraging societies obtain the majority of their resources directly from the environment without cultivation. Also known as Hunter-gatherers, foragers may subsist through collecting wild plants, hunting, or fishing. [1]
Pygmy hunter-gatherers in the Congo Basin in August 2014. A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, [1] [2] that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, especially wild edible plants but also insects, fungi, honey, bird eggs, or anything safe to eat ...
By foraging only for their immediate needs among plentiful resources, hunter-gatherers are able to increase the amount of leisure time available to them. Thus, despite living in what western society deems to be material poverty, hunter-gatherer societies work less than people practicing other modes of subsistence while still providing for all ...
For example, there are clear similarities among societies that have a foraging (hunting and gathering) strategy. Cohen developed a typology of societies based on correlations between their economies and their social features. His typology includes these five adaptive strategies: foraging, horticulture, agriculture, pastoralism, and industrialism.
Optimal foraging theory has been used to predict animal behaviour when searching for food, but can also be used for humans (specifically hunter-gatherers). Food provides energy but costs energy to obtain. Foraging strategy must provide the most benefit for the lowest cost – it is a balance between nutritional value and energy required.
Group foraging can thus reduce an animal's foraging payoff. [27] Group foraging may be influenced by the size of a group. In some species like lions and wild dogs, foraging success increases with an increase in group size then declines once the optimal size is exceeded. A myriad number of factors affect the group sizes in different species.
The OFT suggests that the sexual division of labour is an adaptation that benefits the household; thus, foraging behavior of males will appear optimal at the level of the family. [28] If a hunter-gatherer man does not rely on resources from others and passes up a food item with caloric value, it can be assumed that he is foraging at an optimal ...
A forager is a person who collects edible plants or fungi for consumption. Urban foragers may collect in city parks, private lands, and sidewalks. Urban foraging has gained in popularity in the 21st century, as people share their knowledge, experiments, and research about local flora online.