Horticultural societies produce food by gardening. It appears as if some humans had knowledge of plant cultivation as long as 20 to 30,000 years ago. However, it was used infrequently as people preferred the hunting and gathering lifestyle. The first societies to rely primarily on horticulture developed between 13,000 and 7,000 BC. This switch to horticulture occurred about the time large game animals declined. There are two major theories as to why these animals died out.

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There was a change in the weather with the end of the ice age.

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The growing human populations with better hunting tools over hunted the game.

Size and Density.  Horticulture had the effect of producing larger food supplies which produced larger populations. While hunting and gathering societies rarely had over 40 people, simple horticulture societies averaged 1,500 people with an average density of 13.8 per square mile while some advanced horticulture societies had over 5,000 people with an average population density of 42.7 per square mile.

Multi community societies develop. That is several societies are linked politically and economically.

Mobility - People in horticultural societies move less than hunting and gathering societies. A few advance horticultural societies may have had truly permanent settlements but most moved every few years. The gardens were usually made by clearing (slash and burn) a forested area and planting the crops. As the forest reclaimed the garden and the soil lost nutrients (no plow!), the people would move on to make new gardens.

Social Institutions

    The Family is still the major institution. Some societies have very complex and intricate systems of marriage rules. Matriarchy (mother's side of family) is more common than in other societal types but not the most common. Marriage itself becomes an economic activity as 83% of advanced horticulture societies require purchase of bride. Female infanticide is common especially in warring societies.
    Slavery is fairly common.
    The Economy revolves about the cultivation of plants. Primarily responsibility for this activity differs from one society to another (39% female; 33% shared; 28% male). Since there is some food surplus, other full time occupations like priests, crafts, and soldiers arise.
    Religion is often based on ancestor worship. Lenski believes this is due to living close to graves of the dead.
    Politics is more complex than in hunting and gathering societies and legal codes develop. There is often a Headman or shaman.
    Education is still not a formal institution.
    Art and leisure consist of art, music, and dancing. Games of physical skill still high (90%); games of chance decline (34%); strategy games increase (10% simple; 57% advanced).
    Warfare increases in frequency. More stuff to steal.

Stratification is minimal. Private ownership of land virtually absent.

Other - Compared to hunting and gathering societies, there are increases in headhunting, cannibalism and human sacrifices. Murder and inter group violence appears to be rather common - one estimate is that dying from murder was 50 greater than in US today.

Today horticultural societies are found only in the middle parts of Africa where the soil is too poor for true agricultural societies to develop. The plow does not help as nutrients are not deep into the soil.


For further reading I suggest: Human Societies: An Introduction to Macro sociology by Gerhard Lenski, Jean Lenski and Patrick Nolan. McGraw-Hill, Inc.