Culture, as defined by Haviland, is " The ideals, values and beliefs members of a society share to interpret experience and generate behavior." The three patterns of subsistence, Hunter-gather, Horticultural and Pastoral, all have unique cultural characteristics. Hunter-gather, the oldest of the three means of subsistence, relies only on what resources can be drawn from nature. Hunter-Gathering is one of the most efficient means of survival and produces no surplus. Tribes of this nature can usually be found in areas unsuitable for Horticulture. Horticulture, sometimes known as extensive cultivation, originated some 9000 years ago and consists of the care of several species of plant life and of some gathering(Barger, 2000, pA104). Horticulturists are found most often in tropical forests and employ a slash and burn method known as swidden farming(Haviland, 1999, p176). Pastoralism in the words of Haviland is the practice of "animal husbandry" or the "production of reco!
             urses that never existed in nature in that form." Pastoral societies practice nomadism and have hard lives. This essay will show the cultural differences between Hunter-gathers, Horticulturalists and Pastoralists and why they are important for that culture.
             Hunter-gathers follow a pattern of seasonal nomadism along a set route which corresponds with the availability of water and food and exist in small groups of 15-40 individuals.The fact that they have small groups makes for a relatively effective means of existence as the population is well below the carrying capacity of the land and movement allows the land to recover. Some societies of bushman use a primitive form of birth control in which the child will suckle for 4-5 years in order to stop the female from ovulating as she can only support one infant at a time(Jim Anderson, lecture 6). The groups or bands which these nomadic Hunter-gathers exist in are made up of ext...