The Amish Culture

One of the best-know hunting and gathering communities in the modern world are the San ("Bushman") of the Kalahari dessert. The San people have resided in this area for thousands of years. The diet of the San people is primary nuts, fruits, melon and berries. The women of this culture take an almost all of the gathering responsibility and provide up to 80 percent of the San diet. The men are hunters and provided 20 percent of the diet, which is meat from animals. It should be noted when necessary the women will hunt small animals. They practice a gender based division of labor just like many other of the foraging band, primary with women caring for children and foraging for vegetation and men hunting and providing other skills such as tool making.

Along with begin hard workers, and doing what is needed, the San people are also leisurely people who enjoy one another's company and heavily rely on each other. Social ties are considered very important in band society because no one can simply be in it for his own benefits. The San way of sharing meals is an example of why things work so well in their society with every person in the band contributing for food it is not necessary for members to hunt or gather every day of the week for survival. In our text book says they spend a few days a week working and providing for their families and the rest of the band to rest and enjoying life and their surrounding (Nowak, Larid, 2010).

The San people have bilateral which means they consider themselves as related to both sides of their families which is important because of a lack of scarcity of food and water, which allows relatives who have enough water and food to provide for those relatives who are in need. The close kinship arrangements of the San people are very important in every aspect of the culture. The communities practice polygyny and men marry their brides before they reach maturity. Women in the San society play a very important position in helping provide food and care for their children and they also have a major say in decision in their society. Due to the fact the San men brides are so young, and the fact there a few women available San men move into their brides home and begin assisting to the family needs.

This arrangement continues for years, and the man is patient and waits for her, and always does his part in her community securing his place with her. Even though divorce is common in San marriage many of their practice leading up to marriage and during shows how important a good women is to a San man. The Kinship system in this culture affects all things, but most clearly how their marriage rituals work, how people spend their free time, and where they live during times of shortage. Kinship determines if one band will be taken in by another during ruff times, and thankful, and the San have both the maternal and paternal side of their families to go to. Family is so important and keeping up social

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