The activity solely dependent upon animals is called:
Pastoralism
Understanding Activities Dependent on Animals
The question asks to identify the activity that is solely dependent upon animals. Let's examine each option to determine which one fits this description most accurately.
Analyzing the Options
We need to look closely at how animals are used in each activity:
- Hunting and Gathering: This involves obtaining food by hunting wild animals and gathering wild plants, fruits, and nuts. While hunting relies on animals, gathering relies on plants. Therefore, it is not solely dependent upon animals.
- Pastoralism: This is a form of subsistence agriculture where people raise domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, or camels. Pastoralists typically move with their herds to find pastures. Their entire livelihood—food (milk, meat), clothing (wool, hides), and sometimes transport or trade—is based on these animals. This activity is fundamentally and almost exclusively centered around animals.
- Shifting Agriculture: Also known as slash-and-burn agriculture, this method involves clearing forest land for cultivation, growing crops for a few years, and then moving to a new plot. This activity primarily depends on cultivating plants and the availability of land, not solely on animals, although animals might sometimes be used for clearing or as livestock alongside farming.
- Commercial Agriculture: This is large-scale farming primarily for sale in the market. It involves cultivating crops or raising livestock using modern techniques and technology. While livestock farming is a part of commercial agriculture, commercial agriculture as a whole encompasses extensive plant cultivation and often uses machinery, making it not solely dependent on animals.
Why Pastoralism is Solely Dependent on Animals
Based on the analysis, Pastoralism is the activity that is most accurately described as being solely dependent upon animals. Pastoralist communities derive their primary sustenance, economic base, and lifestyle directly from their domesticated animals. They rely on the animals for food (dairy, meat), materials (wool, hides), and often trade. Their movements and social structures are often dictated by the needs of their herds.
Comparison of Activities
| Activity | Primary Dependence | Solely Dependent on Animals? |
|---|---|---|
| Hunting and Gathering | Wild Animals & Wild Plants | No |
| Pastoralism | Domesticated Animals | Yes (Primary Livelihood) |
| Shifting Agriculture | Cultivated Plants & Land | No |
| Commercial Agriculture | Cultivated Plants & Livestock (for market) | No |
Therefore, Pastoralism stands out as the activity where animals form the central and defining element of subsistence and economy.
Revision Table: Animal-Dependent Livelihoods
| Term | Description | Relation to Animals |
|---|---|---|
| Pastoralism | Raising domesticated herds. | Direct and primary dependence for food, clothing, etc. |
| Hunting | Tracking and killing wild animals. | Dependent on animals for food/resources, but often part of broader strategies. |
| Gathering | Collecting wild plants. | Dependent on plants, not animals. |
| Agriculture (General) | Cultivating land, raising crops and/or livestock. | May involve animals (livestock, draft animals) but also heavily relies on plants and land. |
Additional Information: The World of Pastoralism
Pastoralism is practiced in various parts of the world, often in regions less suitable for agriculture due to climate, terrain, or soil conditions. Pastoralists have developed complex social structures and traditional knowledge systems related to animal husbandry, pasture management, and seasonal migration (transhumance). The type of animals raised varies depending on the environment and culture, including cattle, sheep, goats, camels, yaks, and reindeer. Pastoralism is a significant way of life for many communities and plays a role in managing fragile ecosystems.
Important Questions from Primary Activities
Which of the following is a mining town?
According to density of population arrange the given continents in descending order.
A. Europe
B. Africa
C. Asia
D. North America
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Which of the following Geographers has emphasized on ‘synthesis study of relationship between human societies and earth’s surface’ while defining Human Geography?
Direction for the question 41 to 45: Read the following passage and answer the question:
Nomadic herding or pastoral nomadism is a primitive subsistence activity, in which the herders rely on animals for food, clothing, shelter, tools and transport. They move from one place to another along with their livestock, depending on the amount and quality of pastures and water. Each nomadic community occupies a well-identified territory as a matter of tradition.
A wide variety of animals is kept in different regions. In tropical Africa, cattle are the most important livestock, while in Sahara and Asiatic deserts, sheeps, goats and camel are reared. In the mountainous areas of Tibet and Andes, Yak and llamas and in the Arctic and sub-Artic areas, reindeer are the most important animals.
Pastoral nomadism is associated with three important regions. The core region extends from the Atlantic shores of North Africa eastwards across the Arabian Peninsula into Mongolia and Central China. The second region extends over the Tundra region of Eurasia. In the southern hemisphere there are small areas in south-West Africa and on the islands of Madagascar.
Movement in search of pastures is undertaken either over vast horizontal distances or vertically from one elevation to another in the mountainous regions. The process of migration from plain areas to pastures on mountain during Summer and again from Mountain pastures to plain areas during winters is known as Transhumance. In mountain regions such as Himalayas, Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis and Bhotiyas migrate from plains to the mountains in summers and to the plains from the high-altitude pastures in winters.
Similarly, in the Tundra regions, the nomadic herders move from south to north in summers and from north to south in winters.
The number of pastoral nomads has been decreasing and the areas operated by them shrinking. This is due to: (a) imposition of political boundaries, (b) new settlement plans by different countries.
The number of pastoral nomads have been decreasing and operated area shrinking due to?
Direction for the question 41 to 45: Read the following passage and answer the question:
Nomadic herding or pastoral nomadism is a primitive subsistence activity, in which the herders rely on animals for food, clothing, shelter, tools and transport. They move from one place to another along with their livestock, depending on the amount and quality of pastures and water. Each nomadic community occupies a well-identified territory as a matter of tradition.
A wide variety of animals is kept in different regions. In tropical Africa, cattle are the most important livestock, while in Sahara and Asiatic deserts, sheeps, goats and camel are reared. In the mountainous areas of Tibet and Andes, Yak and llamas and in the Arctic and sub-Artic areas, reindeer are the most important animals.
Pastoral nomadism is associated with three important regions. The core region extends from the Atlantic shores of North Africa eastwards across the Arabian Peninsula into Mongolia and Central China. The second region extends over the Tundra region of Eurasia. In the southern hemisphere there are small areas in south-West Africa and on the islands of Madagascar.
Movement in search of pastures is undertaken either over vast horizontal distances or vertically from one elevation to another in the mountainous regions. The process of migration from plain areas to pastures on mountain during Summer and again from Mountain pastures to plain areas during winters is known as Transhumance. In mountain regions such as Himalayas, Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis and Bhotiyas migrate from plains to the mountains in summers and to the plains from the high-altitude pastures in winters.
Similarly, in the Tundra regions, the nomadic herders move from south to north in summers and from north to south in winters.
The number of pastoral nomads has been decreasing and the areas operated by them shrinking. This is due to: (a) imposition of political boundaries, (b) new settlement plans by different countries.
Which tribe is not the part of transhumance in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand?
