Hunter Gatherers?

Question

Why don't they have to deal with SOCIAL class problems? My teacher didn't specify and I'm wondering if I could have a general synopsis of the reasoning behind this...

Answer 1

because they have their minds on killing and gathering their next meal.

Answer 2

It's primarily because there were so few of them. That you were just happy to see other people. Because you might be off hunting or gathering for days, social structures are simple, small tribes / clans but not usually groups more than about 120 or so indviduals. There are "classes" or leaders and followers, but the social "class" structures are pretty rudimentary, similar to those found in simians/ Gorillas and Chimps, Alpha,Beta male-hierarchical structures.

With the advent of agriculture came sedentary (to the land) lifestyles, food surpluses and the need for specialization and ultimately the administrative trappings of government. Or put more comically...

We've all decided to stop gathering , and recent experiments on the berrys and new-fangled "wheat" might lead to more food than we can eat - at least today...

Next up would be once you've learned how to plant some of the other favorite things you've been gathering, farming can produce more surpluses - so after you've got surpluses then you can start talking about having anything other than simple social structures.

This lends itself to towns where farmers can trade surpluses of what they've grown, that leads to traders (guys who say or think they can get a better deal), lenders etc. After a while someone is going to need rules for all this trading and whatnot going on.

Probably someone should learn how to figure out if they're getting a better deal, so counting is a good idea, (and so it was the first math class was invented).

Say BTW, last week did we trade three sheeps and two chickens or two sheeps and three chickens....I don't remember. (That was the day,when someone figured out the idea of accounting for your stuff, might be a good idea and so we got writing!)

Sooner or later, fights might break out between towns or villages that think they got screwed on that last trade deal, maybe when the hunters come back we'll ask them if they want to go up the river and kick some butt. (The first angry mob/troublesome neighbors)

Hey, some of those guys from the other side of the trading post didn't get the message that we don't like the up-river town, Well, maybe we should call them names or abuse them a little bit too. (the first conservatives and liberals).

Gee we got our butts kicked by the up-river people last week, we need to train harder on kicking their butts. (thus the first army was formed.)

The farmers one day decide they want more stuff for their grain, the traders refuse, a fight breaks out and someone looses an eye, and now you need (a lawer or at least, the first judge, and possibly a growers union)

So how are we going to make sure the up-river people don't come for us tonight , someone's got to stay up and watch for them and wake up the army! (first civil servant)

The civil servant keeps falling asleep, we need another civil servant to keep him awake at 3 in the morning....(the 2nd , 3rd and 4th civil servants).

Hey, someone has got to make sure these civil servants show up on time. (the first manager)

The 1st civil servant quit and the others don't like staying up and are demanding more grain (the first taxes).

The hunters heard about the civil servants and need new clubs - the up-river people could come for us any day now...(more taxes)

And so it goes. Before you can say kaboom, you've got red-states and blue-states, nuclear weapons, catholics and protestants and cats and dogs living together - what's next..

When you think about it from how is must have started, it all seems pretty stupid - doesn't it.