List of subsistence techniques

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Subsistence is the food necessary to sustain life.

The following is a list of subsistence techniques:

  • Hunting and Gathering techniques, also known as Foraging:
    • freeganism — involves gathering of discarded food in the context of an urban environment
    • gleaning — involves the gathering of food that traditional farmers have left behind in their fields
  • Cultivation:
  • Pastoralism, the raising of grazing animals:
    • Pastoral nomadism — all members of the pastoral society follow the herd throughout the year.
    • Transhumance or agro-pastoralism — part of the society follows the herd, while the other part maintains a home village.
    • Ranch agriculture — non-nomadic pastoralism with a defined territory


  • Alternative ends : people devote their time, resources, and energy to five broad categories of ends — subsistence, replacement, social, ceremonial, and rent.
    • Subsistence fund — work is done to replace calories lost through life activities.
    • Replacement fund — work is expended maintaining the technology necessary for life.
    • Social fund — work is expended to establish and maintain social ties.
    • Ceremonial fund — work is expended to fulfill ritual obligations.
    • Rent fund — work is expended to satisfy the obligations owed political or economic superiors.


  • Distribution and Exchange:
    • Redistribution
    • Reciprocity — exchange between social equals.
    • Potlatching — a widely studied ritual in which sponsors (helped by their entourages) gave away resources and manufactured wealth while generating prestige for themselves.
    • LETS — Local Exchange Trading Systems.


[edit] See also