Hi Beth,
this is my homework for the week. Sorry, I can’t put on an attachment. It doesn’t work.
🙂 🙂 🙂
Melvin
Mesolithic period
The Mesolithic period (or ‘Middle Stone Age’) in Britain dates from just after the end of the Pleistocene (‘Ice Age’) approximately 11,600 years ago, to the beginning of the Neolithic period about 4000 calibrated years BC. The type of culture associated with the Mesolithic varies between areas, but it is associated with a decline in the group hunting of large animals in favour of a broader hunter-gatherer way of life, and the development of more sophisticated and typically smaller lithic tools and weapons than the heavy-chipped equivalents typical of the Paleolithic. Depending on the region, some use of pottery and textiles may be found in sites allocated to the Mesolithic, but generally indications of agriculture are taken as marking transition into the Neolithic. The more permanent settlements tend to be close to the sea or inland waters offering a good supply of food. Mesolithic societies are not seen as very complex, and burials are fairly simple; in contrast, grandiose burial mounds are a mark of the Neolithic.
Inuit
They hunt for walrus on the frozen ice of the Arctic. They used harpoons and bows and arrows to take down animals of all sizes. They depend on hunting since finding plants is impossible in this extreme condition. There are four aspects, which are markers for social hierarchy in traditional Inuit culture: The community as a whole, leadership, gender and marital relationships and the relationship between the Inuit and the people of Canada. Most Inuit wintered either in snow-block houses generally referred to as igloos (iglus or igluvigaqs, depending on dialect) or in semi subterranean houses built of stone or sod over a wooden or whalebone framework. In summer many Inuit lived in animal-skin tents. Hunting is at the core of Inuit culture. Comprehensive knowledge of local wildlife and survival techniques combined with incredible patience, hunting skills, physical and mental strength, stamina and courage are important fundamental values in traditional Inuit culture.
Ayoreo
The Ayoreo hunt armadillos in the american dry south chaco.The Ayoreo-Totobiegosode live in small communities. They grow squashes, beans and melons in the sandy soil, and hunt in the forest. Large tortoises and wild pigs are particularly prized, as is the abundant wild honey. In the forest four or five families will live together in a communal house.The Ayoreo have a deep connection to Eami, their collective territory. They are nomadic hunter-gatherers, but in the rainy season they plant small amounts of crops, including corn, beans, and squash. They hunt anteaters, pigs, tortoises, and monkeys in the forest and collect honey from the Quebecois tree. Despite being considered an ‘egalitarian society,’ the Ayoreo have a hierarchical model of social structure organized around prestige and social standing. During pre-mission life, men achieved social standing either by becoming an Asute (chief) or Narijai (shaman).
Awá
Everything the Awá need comes from the Amazon jungle. Their shelters, called Tapãí, are made from tree branches and palm leaves. The trees’ fibers are used to create hammocks, and they collect honey by using loops of vine to climb to the tops of the tallest trees. Even the resin from trees is burned to provide light! They hunt with bows and arrows and gather fruit, nuts, and honey in the jungle. Hunting for their dinner with two-metre bows and arrows called Irapara, the Awá are very choosy about what they feast on. Some animals, such as the capybara (a large rodent) and the harpy eagle, are forbidden, while bats are believed to cause headaches.The tribe’s children go fruit picking and fishing with their families, make juice out of acaí berries, play with miniature bows and arrows, and look after their pets. Because the Awá is a hunter-gatherer society, they are also more egalitarian than other cultures, especially when it comes to food. They don’t have any steep hierarchies or inequalities. They share their material life, so they are really big-hearted in that sense.
Nenets
Nomadic Nenets live in chums, conical reindeer-hide tents in Siberia , Russia. They wear two reindeer-fur jackets with attached reindeer-fur gloves and reindeer-fur hoods and reindeer-fur boots that come up above the knees. The women sew new sets of clothing (using reindeer sinew as thread) every summer for everyone living in their chum. They have a shamanistic and animistic belief system which stresses respect for the land and its resources. During migrations, the Nenets placed sacred items like bear skins, religious figures, coins and more on a holy sleigh. They use the animals (mainly reindeer) for food, transportation, clothing, shelter, and tools, ensuring no part of the reindeer gets wasted. Reindeer hides are made into Nenets clothing, footwear, and tents, while reindeer leather is able to provide items such as harnesses. They don’t really hunt, they herd and then kill the reindeers in the herd. The Nenets’ life traditionally revolves around clans, based on paternal descent, that have their own territory, hunting and fishing rights. Under tight rules and customs, about 100 clans survive today.