1.3 Economy, social organization and political structure of the pre-colonial San H E H G D W N N E F S R R P
- Hunter gatherers
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- Hunting
- Gathering
- Division of Labour
- Wealth (as a concept)
- Nomadism
- Egalitarianism
- Flexible Social Structures
- Sharing ethic
- Ritual participation
- Rock paintings
14. Political Organization and judicial system
Very few signs of chiefly authority
Decisions were made by the group (band) as a whole (Consensus was the general basis for decision making)
Influenced how justice and punishment were dealt with
disputes handled on a one-to-one or family-to-family basis
If conflict could not be resolved, individuals could join other camps
WHY?
Absence of wealth as a basis/foundation for political power,
Flexibility of the social structures
Size of the bands
INTERPRETED IN THE CONTEXT OF
Social and economic life
RELIGIOUS LIFE DEPICTED IN MOST ENGRAVINGS AND PAINTINGS
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
depict religious belief system of the San
Vital importance to the social and religious life of the san
Example: The Eland's prominence in many paintings that depicted rituals that were performed by the San supports the notion that the paintings played a more significant role in San society than just an artistic representation of the immediate environment
Shamanism (Medicine people) #
Symbolism
Trance Dances #
Link between supernatural and physical world
Categories
Game (Animals and the hunt)
Rain
Illness (controlled)
Curers (Healers)
Painters
Paintings represented experiences in trance state
Believed to be messages from the supernatural world
Culture
Linked to the provision of food
Between bands and members of the camps
Caused by
High degree of mobility
Prevented the accumulation of possessions
Required small and flexible group structures
strategic flexibility
across landscape in proportion to their perception of resource distribution
Wealth was not valued, so no individual was richer or poorer than the next
Access to resources regardless of gender or marital status
Environmental conditions do not explain why the San economy was based on hunting and gathering and the reason why the San adopted a nomadic lifestyle
Moved in a systematic way at different times of the year, using resources available at different seasons
Economy based on self-sufficiency and meeting the immediate needs of the community for survival in often harsh conditions
Did not think in terms of material wealth, therefore they did not store food, accumulate possessions or engage in trade
Men responsible for hunting and women responsible for gathering plants
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Main economic activity
Source of protein
Earliest indigenous people of Southern Africa
Economy closely linked to environment in which they lived
Descendants of Late Stone age people who hunted wild animals and gathered plant foods
Small, flexible groups with migratory lifestyle and loose leadership structures
- Economy and technology
linked to the natural environment in which they lived