# Pastoralism **Pastoralism** is a subsistence strategy focused primarily on the breeding, herding, and raising of livestock. It is an adaptation to environments where [[Agriculture]] is difficult, such as arid steppes, deserts, and mountains. ### Core Characteristics * **Primary Focus:** Mobile wealth in the form of **livestock** (e.g., cattle, [[Sheep]], goats, camels, yaks, reindeer). * **Lifestyle:** Typically **nomadic** (constantly moving) or **transhumant** (seasonally migrating between fixed pastures) to find fresh grazing land. * **Subsistence:** Relies on animal products for food (meat, milk, blood, cheese), materials (wool, hides, leather), and transportation. * **Social Structure:** Often **tribal and kinship-based**, with relatively [[egalitarian]] structures compared to agrarian societies. Leadership is based on lineage and skill in managing herds and people. * **Relationship with Land:** Uses land **extensively**. Land is valued as territory for grazing rather than as a bounded plot to be owned and improved. ### Historical Context & Timeline * **c. 10,000 BCE:** Emerged during the [[Neolithic]] Revolution alongside [[Agrarian|Agrarianism]] with the [[Domestication]] of [[Animals]]. * **c. 3000 BCE - 1500 CE:** The "Age of Pastoral Nomads" on the Eurasian Steppe. Powerful, horse-based societies like the Scythians, Xiongnu, Mongols, and Huns often interacted with—through both trade and conflict—sedentary [[Agrarian]] empires. * **Present Day:** Still practiced by communities like the Maasai, Mongols, and Sami, though their ways of life are increasingly threatened. ### Interaction with Agrarian Societies The relationship between pastoral and agrarian societies was complex and defined by two main dynamics: 1. **Symbiotic Trade:** Pastoralists traded animal products, salt, and transportation services with Agrarian societies in exchange for grains, tools, and finished goods. 2. **Conflict & Raiding:** The same mobility that made them excellent traders also made them formidable raiders of wealthy, settled Agrarian villages and states. `Concepts:` `Knowledge Base:` ---