Hunter-gatherers are individuals who live in societies where food is collected by hunting wild animals or searching for edible plants. The earliest humans likely lived in woodland areas, and their subsistence lifestyle relied on hunting and fishing animals and foraging for wild vegetation and nutrients like honey. Hunter-gatherers evolved to move, covering distances from six to 16km daily. Modern lifestyles are far more diverse, and humans’ brains and bodies might be best suited to the lifestyle described. Most hunter-gatherers live in small groups with multirelational kinship ties. They often have distinct forms of environmental perception and are known for their quiet, patient, stealthy, hyper-awareness of the environment, all five senses, and a sixth sense of where prey or plants are going.
Hunter-gatherers know that they live off finite resources and must never take more than can be replaced naturally in the next year. They have advantages such as living off the land, general health and fitness, and strong family ties. Most of their skills are not learned, but they learn to observe patterns in their environment.
The sexual division of labor is common in gatherer-hunter societies, with men often doing most or all of the hunting. The nature of human subsistence hunting reflects the ability to use a range of weapons and techniques to capture food, especially in prey-deficient wildlands. Changes in the lifestyle of Hunter-gatherers after the introduction of farming include poorer diets and malnutrition.
📹 Being an Ethical and Responsible Hunter
In this video, we delve into the crucial elements of being a responsible and ethical hunter. From understanding the natural …
What are some key characteristics of hunter-gatherer diets?
Hunter-gatherers consumed a diverse range of plant species, including fleshy fruits, seeds, tubers, greens/shoots, grains, nuts, and flowers, depending on location. They did not consume highly modified species, and gluten-free grains were consumed to varying extents in temperate and warmer climates. Food processing techniques were crucial in reducing toxins, removing antinutrients, and promoting better digestibility. Examples exist where toxic plant species were used as staples.
Seasonally consuming foods, except for stored foods, and not consuming year-round foods like eggs and sweet fruits, limited the harmful effects of excess food consumption. Some people had access to a variety of plant foods year-round, while others relied heavily on animal foods. Food processing techniques included cooking, drying, soaking, leaching, and diluting. This diet emphasized the importance of seasonality and the availability of plant foods to limit the harmful effects of excess consumption.
What are the 4 main aspects of hunter-gatherer society?
In most HG societies, there are five categories of food energy procurement: hunting, trapping, and fishing. Hunting involves actively pursuing animals, trapping involves passively capturing prey through technical means, and fishing involves using a variety of methods. ScienceDirect uses cookies and other technologies for shopping and support, and all rights are reserved for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies. Open access content is licensed under Creative Commons terms.
What are the key characteristics of a hunter-gatherer way of life?
Hunter-gatherer societies are typically characterized by small bands, a simple political structure, and an egalitarian distribution of wealth. Hunter-gatherers typically engage in hunting wild game and foraging for local plant resources, including nuts, berries, and raw materials.
What are five characteristics of hunter-gatherer societies?
Hunter-gatherer societies exhibited minimal social change, minimal disease spread, increased animal and accident dangers, surplus food, and minimal technological advancement.
What is a hunter personality?
Hunters are future-oriented, engaging in activities such as scouting, investigation, and comprehension. They are willing to take risks based on comprehensive data analysis, but may experience difficulty in empathizing with others and in understanding their own emotions in a rational manner. Such individuals may experience difficulty in empathizing with others.
What are the qualities of a hunter?
Marksmanship is an essential skill for any hunter, as it involves mental toughness, physical fitness, navigation, bushcraft, first aid, observation, and patience. A good hunter should have a basic understanding of internal, external, and terminal ballistics, as well as spent time practicing fundamentals to release the perfect shot. This includes breathing, trigger control, controlling/holding the firearm, and understanding the impact of different shooting positions on these fundamentals.
As a hunter, it is crucial to take your game animal as quickly and ethically as possible, knowing your limitations and focusing on the right shot. A basic understanding of internal, external, and terminal ballistics is important, but understanding is not enough. A successful hunter should also focus on practicing the basics required to release the perfect shot, considering breathing, trigger control, and the impact of different shooting positions on these fundamentals. By focusing on these skills, a hunter can ensure they are a successful hunter and contribute to the success of their hunting endeavors.
What are the advantages of living as hunter-gatherers?
Research indicates that hunter gatherers had a healthier diet and body due to increased food intake and nutrients. They had more leisure time, which they used for art and music creation. Hunter gatherers did not require as much labor as farmers and rarely suffered from modern diseases. However, their food source was unpredictable and their nomadic lifestyles were more challenging than modern civilizations.
What does a hunter-gatherer lifestyle include?
Hunter-gatherer societies are individuals who live in communities or follow an ancestrally derived lifestyle where most or all food is obtained through foraging, gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, such as wild edible plants, insects, fungi, honey, bird eggs, or safe to eat foods. This practice is common among most omnivores and is distinct from sedentary agricultural societies, which rely on cultivating crops and raising domesticated animals for food production.
Hunting and gathering was humanity’s original and most enduring successful competitive adaptation in the natural world, occupying at least 90% of human history. After the invention of agriculture, hunter-gatherers were displaced or conquered by farming or pastoralist groups in most parts of the world. It was only around 4, 000 BC that farming and metallurgical societies completely replaced hunter-gatherers in Western Eurasia. Neolithic societies could not establish themselves in dense forests, and Copper Age societies had limited success.
A single study found that women engage in hunting in 79 of modern hunter-gatherer societies, but multiple methodological failures bias their results in the same direction. Only a few contemporary societies of uncontacted people are still classified as hunter-gatherers, and many supplement their foraging activity with horticulture or pastoralism.
What is the hunter-gatherer lifestyle?
Hunter-gatherer culture is a subsistence lifestyle that relies on hunting, fishing, and foraging for food. It has been practiced by humans and their ancestors for around two million years. Before this, early groups used scavenging animal remains. Hunter-gatherers used mobility as a survival strategy, accessing large areas of land to find food. This made long-term settlements impractical, making most hunter-gatherers nomadic.
Hunter-gatherer groups ranged in size from extended families to larger bands of around 100 people. Anthropologists have discovered evidence for hunter-gatherer culture by modern humans and their ancestors dating back two million years.
What are the values of hunters?
Those who engage in ethical hunting practices adhere to the principles of good sportsmanship, support wildlife conservation initiatives, and promote land stewardship. This ensures that ethical considerations are given due weight when making decisions regarding the taking of game.
What best describes the lifestyle of hunter-gatherers?
Due to their hunter-gatherer lifestyle, nomads are characterized by their swift mobility and relentless pursuit of new food sources. This often results in their relocation to new areas when resources are depleted. This behavior aligns with the characteristics of the correct answer.
📹 Hunter-Gatherer’s Survival Guide for the 21st Century- 4 Daily Habits
Music: Tribal cinematic drums (no copyright music) “Tor Sgudal” (@ 09:29 and 26:09) by Henry Fosbrooke, from the Album …
Imagine being lost in the highlands at night and you just stumble upon this guy, alone, and he tells you to sit down, offers you a warm drink, tells you stories and eventually sings and plays some ancient tune until you finally drift off to sleep. And awaken on the morrow to find him mysteriously gone having left no trace.
Watching this while cycle touring through Canada, couldn’t be more appropriate. I’ve noticed my attention span has improved a huge amount. Spend the evenings just kind of doing a ‘debriefing’ by the cook stove. Listening to the sounds of the forest and spending a lot of my brain power on things like maintaining the bike and wondering where I can get supplies from along the road. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier. Nice article Tom!
I love this. Don’t forget that beyond the every day cycles of problem-solving, we humans have done something else for at least 30,000 years: make and appreciate art. Take our observations and experiences and recontextualize them into song, dance, story, sculpture and painting. We respond to challenges in the outer world but we also created our own inner world.
The article reminds me of the “Wild Child” poem by Van Jeanne Willis. “They caught all the wild children, and put them in zoos, They made them do sums and wear sensible shoes. They put them to bed at the wrong time of day, And made them sit still when they wanted to play. They scrubbed them with soap and they made them eat peas. They made them behave and say pardon and please. They took all their wisdom and wildness away. That’s why there are none in the forests today.” Van Jeanne Willis
Dear Sir – this article is frankly astonishing. It’s really well put together, with charm and wit, and deep truths and practical advice. It’s a treasure, and I thank you for it, the message I’ve been needing to receive. I’m a highlander myself, of sorts, living in the Rocky Mountains in the US. And I have some Scottish blood from my great grandad, so a trip to Scotland has been on my bucket list all my life. A sub-bucket item is now to meet you in person so I can shake you hand. Peace
Hi Tom, you might find this interesting. I’ve read that in some ways, stone-age hunter gatherers were the richest humans who ever lived. They had all the skills they needed to live by the time they were 10, and were masters by the age of 16. And they lived in absolute abundance, because there weren’t enough humans to have depleted all the resources. They had rivers teeming with fish and forests teeming with game. All they had to do was avoid bears and injuries, and they basically spent their whole lives crafting and sporting, with lots of leisure time. I think this forgotten age is what yours and my soul are yearning for, we can sense that it was once possible and perhaps we are trying to recapture it.
A real lesson in survival and sanity…thank you for what you are sharing with everyone. I think it would be fantastic if this article was incorporated into the carriculum of schools all over the country. Also a huge percentage of the adult population would benefit greatly from perusal this…and taking on board your message. Take care…and best wishes.
Absolutely epic vid bro. As a Celt I’ve always viewed Bushcraft as a form of Cultural Survival. I know a lot of people believe that to survive you must adapt……..but if the wolf becomes the poodle has he survived? As a Northern European I’ve always felt that the difference between our approach to Bushcraft and the popular colonial version is that we’re the natives…..as apposed to being on safari.
1. Refined instincts, learning more about how phisical things work and ingraining that knowledge into my body to minimize injury. 2. Funtional strength, being strong enough to move and build. 3. Intentional living, doing what i need and then want to do instead of sitting on the sofa. 4. Thoughtful about simple things, not excepting that anything just is and trying to see what true reality is. Too many older guys can’t seem to move in any way so i want to learn how to move without hurting old me while I’m young.
19:55 I can attest to that. I’ve been going to the gym for years now. Then I gained some weight during the hiatus of the pandemic. When it ended, I started running to lose some of that weight. Now I’m addicted to running. I’d run everyday more than once if I could. The feeling you get after tiring yourself from running is amazing.
As a byproduct of Scottish and First Nations fondness for eachother, this website really illustrates to me why it’s no wonder the 2 cultures got along so well. Also thanks for this, this kind of thinking and methodology is exactly what I believe and shapes my worldview, and having someone articulate it in an intelligent way is far superior than my ADHD 20 year old ramblings
My brother and I were out in the woods a while back, and he found a big stick on the ground. Unable to resist the urge to do so, he immediately picked it up and started whacking a tree until the stick splintered. He then made a caveman roar. Me and the boys were laughing our sides to orbit. Manliest shit I’ve ever seen.
Being as im half Native American & half Welsh/Scots-irish. I guess ive always straddled the line between the old ways & the new. I was taught the ways of both. Herbal medicine, the ways of the wood etc. One thing is for sure, these skills our ancestors relied on are just as useful today as ever. We must keep them alive & pass them on or they will be lost to us.
Hello, Fandabi Dozi. I have to thank you. I have been convincing my wife to work out with me for a year, but due to her health issue, she felt that she could not do it. I tried to explain that working out would make everything better, including her health condition, but to no avail. She agreed, but she was just not motivated enough to work out. About 3 months ago, I have shown this article to convince her that working out really does reduce stress and start a positive cycle. She listened, and now she lost 30 pounds and started to be able to work out on her own. Now she stretches her muscles, goes for a walk, and even does martial arts with me. Thank you so much. I don’t know how to pay you back.
For a fellow who present himself as “having a simple mind”, You do a very impressing job of fliosophizing around the topics of “Man’s” place in the universe, Reason of life, Health, and so on and so forth. I adore Your humourous way of addressing those very toxic topics. I am the very example of your domisticated wildman: I have domisticated myself with more than thirty years of computer work, at the time I made a profession from my hobby, and I am type two diabetic since twelve years mainly due to my sedentary life. I celebrated my sixtieth a few months ago and wish that I had had Your advices available half a llifetime ago… I started perusal Your Highlander Heritage series some years ago and was totally taken with it. I am a fan! Please do continue Your Journey! You obviously has a lot to contribute to our domesticated tribes. I will follow Your development with great anitcipation. Best wishes!
Growing up in the modern world, most don’t even consider the fact that we once lived much as the animals do. Some even find it offensive or objectionable to admit. In my opinion, many of the problems of the modern world stem from this–“alienation” it’s often referred to. Today the most obvious examples are social media, computers and the internet, but before these things it was industrialization and factory work, farming before that. The disconnect only grows bigger over time, and I believe our collective mental health depends on remembering where we came from and connecting with that past in some way. This could be simply going on a hike or backpacking trip, or doing some woodworking, painting, martial arts, hunting, boating, or whatever you prefer. Just something you find gratifying that gets you outside, up and moving, and pulls you out of the daily rat race of work and stressful interactions, emails, etc. Just seeing a few trees will do wonders for your mind. Great article, you’re definitely on to something–keep up the good work! Just as an aside, there has been a lot of ink spilled over the years regarding technology and its effects on society. “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau is a classic example from America, but there there are numerous other philosophers who have discussed the subject from different ends of the political spectrum. It is definitely something worth thinking about, and something we will all have to wrestle with more and more as time goes on. I think most sane people recognize that we need to do a better job integrating nature back into our living environments and daily lives.
This article really hit home for me. I’ve had to relearn how to be happy in life after my military service. Escaping the noisy highways, computers and constant suffocating flow of irrelevant information has been detrimental to my mental and physical health. Getting out on the water to kayak fish, or Escaping to the woods to create and explore has been the ultimate medicine. Our human souls need this to heal and grow. Take your shoes off and reconnect with the dirt that we once came from.
Great article. I find anxiety goes up the less experienced a person is. Not that they need to be able to do everything, but that the base knowledge is not enough to have confidence in the person, and their ability. Worrying about what can go wrong instead of using past experience to problem solve or understand that in time the issue will not remain. Technology is invented to make life easier. With electronic technology it is now the great inhibitor. One person has trouble remembering phone numbers or has to many to remember,the contact list is created . Now people cannot remember phone numbers for people they call all the time. Simple example, but look at every app on a phone to help, has caused larger issues than it solved. I cannot remember my parents or siblings phone numbers now, I don’t know my kids phone number. If I get into trouble and don’t know these numbers I cannot problem solve the same way as I could as a kid. I know 10 numbers to call if I had trouble. I can only call 1 person now, it is the only phone number I remember. This increases my anxiety about going out and I have never had anxiety before. Problem to solve and use your message to work on it. This happens more and more as we offload our thinking into a device and then avoid boredom at all costs.
A very nice article. I agree with pretty much everything you said here. But it would also be useful to state somewhere, maybe in the description, how all of this relates to the recent book “A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century: Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life” from Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein. I ask this since the article is titled almost the same way and I found it because I knew of the book and thought it’s related.
This is why you’re one of my favorite Youtubers!! You described my situation perfectly. My inner hunter-gatherer yearns for the outdoors and wildness. When my inner hunter-gatherer doesn’t get attention, my anxiety/depression/OCD gets a lot worse and I experience a lot of suffering. I did the ol’ cubicle grind for almost 6 years and it almost ended me bc of the misery it caused me. I’d sooner live in a lean-to and forage than go back to that. It’s wonderful knowing others are wired much like me. We didn’t evolve for +20,000 years to wear ties and sit in a box for 9 hours a day.
Tom thank you for this article! I’ve transitioned from a very physical job outdoors in the last two years to a job that’s nearly 100% at a desk. Along with Covid and moving to a new place, it’s been hard physically and mentally. I’m learning bow-making and hiking more as a start along with a standing desk. Going to start implementing some of your tips into my daily routine. Really truly appreciate you sharing!
Very well done – educational and entertaining! This article tied together many of your other articles, and covered the biology and psychology behind “why” it is important. I started learning survival skills as a kid in Boy Scouts (USA), and originally studied Wildlife Biology. However, when I couldn’t find employment, I went back to school for MS in Computer Science. I spent 37 years as a software/systems engineer – so your #1 was a “job hazard”. I used traditional archery, bow hunting, and making walking sticks, canes, and staffs as “low tech” activities to balance my job (#4). I found your articles when searching for history, making, and use of the quarterstaff. I am also interested in using stick fighting practice & forms as a method of regular exercise (#2 & 3). Thanks again.
Brother! I have been enjoying your website for some time now, and I love your articles, but this one is NEXT LEVEL stuff!!! GREAT JOB! Thank you so much! I am going to have my sons watch this for sure, so they can understand how important it is to disconnect from this constant bombardment of technology.
As a survivalist, martial artist, and medical professional, I found this article highly entertaining, informative, and educational. The fight or flight response can be attributed to every aspect of living. Like you said, receiving a negative comment can either depress you or anger you. … You have it right with a correct balance and harmony.
Wow, absolutely agree! We shouldn’t reject civilization, but still honor the past! IMO the second 2 hunter-gatherer abilities aren’t as important today, but the overall application of ancient skills that you showed was almost perfect! The modern world is dark and grimy only if you make it that way for yourself! P.S. wow you’re ripped! Instant respect! One who respects his body, respects his life.
We share similar philosophies & I love your more philosophical content, I like to think we would be friends in life. I picked up casual vagabonding around N.America when I was ~16, primarily visiting national forests. For me it was & is about learning to use my body, engage my inner hunter-gatherer & develop survival skills. As an adult, archery & martial arts are almost religion. Thanks for this upload, it’s helped remind me of my course & I’m sure it’ll benefit many others, too.
Today you uploaded this article. This is also the day that I stopped my summer job. I’m going back to college next week. perusal this at home is a good transition. My summer job was educating visitors about the Iron Age, at a living history museum. Most of the museum Focuses on the late Stone Age. Thank you Tom. Thank you for reminding me to keep going and to develop my skills.
In a roundabout way I think this is what Jordon Peterson means when he says to “be a monster” and that is to master and integrate all the various elements (good and bad) into our psyche so as to be the best man we can be. Not only for ourselves but for the enrichment of our community and society as well.
I would add a couple things as I travel now retired. Finding fresh water or even water I can filter. Being alert all the time in the wild. Things happen out of seemingly nowhere, good to have an alert dog to help. Be ready to defend yourself and develop this mindset. Keeps some of the bad stuff when they (two legs or four leggeds) see you are no easy target. Cool website!
While perusal this article I have whent for a run outside 3 times, and you have helped me realize why I hate cities. I cant go for a run in the fields and forrests swinging my wooden sword and singing everytime Im stimulated to so do, and the benefits of a city like living close to others and to shops means nothing to me since I find no joy in talking and have no friends in the city. Eddit: BTW I wrote this comment bofore you sayed that finding a stick humans will pick it up and swing it arround.
Anyway, a couple of hours of walking the wilderness everyday, will clear your mind, strength your body, and give you a better night of sleep. That i self will help you with the everyday life. Personally I do a bit more than that. One thing I do love is learning something new, and I set some goals in what to learn and practice every year.
I agree with everything you said and try to practice it every day (daily walks or runs, weekly hikes, going hunting just to sit in the forest and so on) I would add something. That being even though an active and outdoors lifestyle helps with mental health it is NOT a cure for mental illness. It does help an average person to feel better on daily basis but it won’t help and even could hurt if you try to treat actual mental illness. I know this from both my university education and personal experience. Physical activity and spending time in the wild helped me deal with depression, anxiety and insomnia but as soon as I would get back from doing whatever depression and anxiety would hit me even harder. Things only turned around for me when a friend talked me into seeing a psychiatrist. Professional therapy, pharmacotherapy and your own ways of dealing with stuff are all equally important and should be used together. Not one instead of the other. If anyone reading this believes to suffer from some form of mental illness please reach out to your primary health care provider or directly to a specialist.
I deleted facebook, instagram, and twitter. It was killing me. I’m never going back. I like youtube because it’s a tool that teaches me things and I use discord to talk to the small group of people I’m close with online. I don’t need the sites I left behind. There’s definitely something to reeling it back in and living closer to nature and the ancients.
very wise this article of yours and very useful. I too am a lover of excaping in nature, but knowing that it is not easy to live there, I have learned to greatly appreciate the comforts that you too have shown: running water, electricity, gas, doors and windows and well-made roof., comfortable beds and the technological entertainment available, but above all it reminded me that technological use must be disciplined so as not to become dependent or sick. A thousand thanks.
Stunning article. You capture what I want to express about survival and the outdoors, except without sounding like a rambling madman. I do the same things as you often do, to a lesser skill though. My worry is that when I walk about Scotland so little of it feels wild anymore. Free, aye, but not wild, I can’t go an hour in the deepest forest or wildest glen without finding a path or road or house. I don’t want to feel the way I do, that society has already overwhelmed Scotland, turned it to field or moor, but it just seems so prevalent. Do you ever feel this way, and if so, how do you reason with it? Cheers
Great article and some very good points, but there is a few things i think you missed out on even if you touched on a few of them slightly: Human interaction and to relate to others around us. There are many ways of doing this aside from the once you brought forward. – Games and play (both intellectually stimulating as well as physically stimulating). You took up sports but there are so much more in this field. – Caring for and beeing cared for by others and sensuality. This can take many forms, everything from listening to each others problems and ponderings, grooming each other thru for an example brushing and braiding the others hair or massaging feet to more cuddling or more explicit sexual practices. – Building community/tribe thru creating common experiences thru communal activities and thru cooperative projects. It really doesn’t matter what but the common denominators are that they should be hard or outright impossible to accomplish by your self. This both activate the need for the community (a need that is deeply human and inescapable but sometimes grinding away under the surface of our consciousness) and also fulfills this need to some degree. -Music and dance (together with others especially) have also proven to have very good effects on both our physical and mental health as well as acting to keep the tribe together.
I had my suspicions with some previous articles. But you have just officially became my favorite YouTuber. You encapsulated everything I have been thinking, feeling, and wanting to get involved with/back to. This is exactly what I align with and it’s so refreshing to hear someone so well spoken; not only describe it so accurately, but actually practice it and incorporate it into their daily life. Well done sir, you’re on the right path. I wish you the best on your travels.
Really enjoyed listening to your words. I used to love throwing knives and various small objects at targets and used to be fairly good. You’ve inspired me to set up a target in my backyard and get back into it. If I can manage axes without destroying anything (or annoying the wife) I might give that a go as well. 🙂
As someone struggling with ADHD and how the country I live in allows only for people adjusted to a industrialized lifestyle and job, the part describing early lifestyles and the simple way our brains react to stress almost made me cry. I am eternally grateful for modern advances, but damn its hell if you can’t do anything because you’re more creatively and artisanally inclined rather than hyperspecialized and industrial
Absolutely love this! Thank you Fandabi Dozi, for hitting the nail on the head. You’ve inspired at least one real human being here in South Africa, where I am striving to keep this very same balance. So amazing in such a crazy and alienating world, to find someone who speaks my language on the other side of the planet! Stoked.
Is obesity a problem as a hunter-gatherer? I couldn’t eat for a week after gastrointestinal surgery. I lost 18 pounds. At that rate I could live for 2 months with out eating. My father was given only 1 cup of cooked rice a day for 3.5 yrs in a Japanese POW camp during WW2 and had to do slave labor or get shot. Nice folks Japanese..do you like 🍣 sushi? I like sukiyaki! In other words you can exist on 204 calories a day, that’s 6,120 calorie a month. Nutrition analysis: There are 204 calories in 1 cup of cooked White Rice. Calorie breakdown: 2% fat, 89% carbs, 9% protein. Other Common Serving Sizes: Serving Size Calories; 1 oz, dry, yields: 112: 100 g: 129: 1 cup cooked: 204: 1 cup, dry, yields: 735: Related Types of White Rice: White Rice (Long-Grain, Cooked). A 25 lb bag of rice has 50 dry 8 oz. cups rice with yields 4 day ration of 1 cup cooked rice. So, 25 lb bag of rice will yield a 200 day supply of existence type food for 1 person. 🤔 4 people is 50 days per 25 lb bag. A year supply of rice is about 46 lbs of rice. You need 176 lbs of rice for a family of 4 to keep on existing. How’s that for gathering vs hunting. I do not recommend hunting for food. You will starve to death. Game 200 years ago in 1822 was more plentiful in America. Then Buffalo Bill came along and help kill off all the Buffaloes. Maybe you can catch or shooting rats and squirrels but I doubt they make up much of a diet. Remember there are 360 million other hunters out there that are just as desperate as you are.
My inner hunter-gatherer is telling me to tell stories at the campfire, make riturals for a good hunt, treat Linda’s infected wound and help Charles give birth (yes, he‘s a man. The spirits have spoken to him and told him so, I can confirm that). How the hell am I supposed to incorporate that into my daily life? D:
Very well done! This makes so many things suddenly make sense. Do for yourself! You could easily go buy candles or clothes or food. What if you learned how to make some of these things for yourself? The sense of accomplishment and self gratitude go such a long way and feel about as healthy for the mind and spirit as a good salad does for the body. THANK YOU !
Greatings from Norway! I think in exactly the same way, having in many ways the same lifestyle and outlook on life as you, this has led me to start studying psychology in order to be able to use these skills and knowledge to help others to master a stressful everyday life and to be able to recover. This article reflected exactly what I am thinking. thank you for sharing.
These are things that I have recently forgotten to allow myself. I appreciate you and all you do, it gives me comfort and hope to know that you grow from it. Thank you for this reminder to be home and know what that means for me and mine. I will try my best to get myself back to the point that I am able to see this in all things. Much love Fandabi Dozi and best of luck on your journey.
I’m not trying to be cynical, but the Scottish Highlands (other than food in quantity) may be the easiest terrain for survival I’ve seen documented thus far. I’d be interested to see how this guy approaches a new, harder environment, and what skills would carry over, and which would be rendered obsolete. Having experience in Desert survival, the highlands look like a cozy dream, I’m sure I’m wrong. Again, not trying to talk down on anyone, or puff my own chest, I’m just highlighting the differences in environments, and how they offer unique problems to solve.
As the kind of person who grew up running everywhere barefoot, loving nature, surfing, skate-boarding, earning black belt, exploring, camping etc…. It’s pretty sad and surprising that i let all that slide away…. Take it from someone JUST TURNED 50: DO NOT LET THAT HAPPEN TO YOU!!! Don’t become lazy, always sedentary, addicted to sugar and screens! Tom is right and i should know! I hope you don’t learn the hard way. ← ↑ Comment for algorithm + 👍 ‘d #OldManPaxus Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Holy shit I can’t believe how subtly deep and powerful this is. It seems weird but this is like the really good side of technology. It allows us to connect with each other and let’s us share things. God danm tho, this is my new philosophy. That I learned from a Scottish guy I’ve never met on the internet,.
This article has managed to express this… Angst, this yearning, I’ve felt inside for so long. It’s like a breath of fresh air after being stuck in a hot metal cylinder for hours. I need to get out and do these things. Thank you so much for making this, for being so wonderfully inspiring! This article, the website, it’s something I’ve needed for a long time.
Great article. I’m always trying to Opt-out of the current culture. I started a garden this year, huge learning curve that books can’t prepare you for. So many issues and problems that arise, solutions that I researched many gardeners don’t know. What i’m saying it’s one thing to read/ watch something, it’s another to do it. Just like this article, do something wild, you will have experience and memories for a life time! Enjoy!
👍👍👍👍👍👍 I like the way you think. Your perspective gives me a new way to look at things. Once upon a time I did pretty much everything you listed. I even acted like a weirdo; it’s fun and invigorating. The only reason I don’t do any of these things anymore, except go barefoot in the woods, yard, garden and in my home is that I am crippled up and can’t. I never considered the reasons you you suggested here. I just did them because it made me feel good, alive and it was fun. I enjoyed it. Now you have given me a new perspective to ponder on. Thx. May you continue to enjoy this incredible freedom you just told us about til your final sleep.
“Write this down, its important” “The food doesnt run away anymore, its bonkers” “It just sits in this really cold box in a weird shiny square cave, sometimes its guarded, but intimidation works well” “Be warned though, theres really fast metal bears that slam into you around every corner, luckily they dont like moving away from their hunting trails”
I’m subbed to this dude and binge watch these then forget about the website for several months. Then I see another article completely forgetting who he is despite how fun of name he has to say. Then its like I start perusal him and I suddenly remember who he is. He definitely knows how to make articles that I will click on even if I don’t realize who it is lol.
I watched this article some weeks ago, and I have to say I think it’s the most inspiring article I’ve ever seen. I have NEVER commented in any Youtube article, but I think this one worths it. Thanks a lot man. Keep the awesome articles!! Greetings from Spain! PS: sorry for any mistakes. I know my English is not perfect. 🙂
I’ve tried hunting with a bow. It did not work out very well. But then again my vision is not so good. What I am considering is making a crossbow of sorts, with about a 100 pound draw with a safety of course. That way I can walk about with it “Loaded” and ready to fire. Plus, easier for me to aim. One of the new modern hunting slingshots also looks interesting to me. I’ve been a hunter and gardener, and I still fish now and then. But to do so on a daily basses just to survive would be a lot of work. And you would have to be in a good place to do it. Where I live is the High Planes of the US, with in sight of the Rocky Mountains. Short growing season, and not much to gather, but lots of meat running around on four legs. And the winters can be brutal. This is why the Indians, where nomadic, following the herds and good weather.
First time watch….Loved it!!.. I’m just getting in to bush craft after coming from a long career as a re-enactor ( 17th cent & 15th ) and being am old Infantryman (RGJ). I found your vid very enlightening. I like the way you Think!.. I’m getting on a bit now ( poor old sod) but still spend as much time as I can off the dog walking trails as possible in the woods in me home county of Bucks. In the quiet secluded parts of the woods I’m always amazed by how feral it all is…no dogs .. no people.. woodland silence. And deer! Will be perusal with anticipation for your next lesson in being. Keep up the good work mate!. Recce Green Jacket.
I loved this bc it is something that a think is increasingly obvious. We should start moving to a neo-nomadic way of life. Just one thing: survival in the wild is often related with being alone, and that is a huge mistake, Hunter gatherer lifestyle is only possible (and the answer to all the problems of humanity) in strong groups of 50-300 people.
Learning and practicing physical skills is a great way to take a break from from modern problems. Especially if you can find something that combines physical strength and physical skill. My passion is shooting, be it guns, bows, even sling shots sometimes. It requires so much concentration, that it blocks everything else. I work a physical job now, and though I haven’t deleted myself, I’ve broken free from FB, Twitter was always garbage, and I only briefly used it, but now I’m so much calmer. I only message friends as a way to tell them something that doesn’t need their immediate attention, and call them when it does, or when we have the time to chat. It’s made me so much calmer. YouTube is my remaining problem, but I at least try to keep it useful sometimes, by perusal about half informative stuff, and try to use websites that are really small, so that there is some human interaction going on in the comments. Life’s been going way better than it was.
I find it funny that one of the first topics was Fight or Flight. It is an issue I have to deal with, since I have a panic disorder. Pretty much my body puts me into fight or flight with no trigger. I can be on the toilet pooping and my brain goes balls to the wall and releases adrenaline. Since there is no actual trigger, I am in a constant state of anxiety because of it. It’s been getting better for the past 2 months, but it’s going to take about double of that until my brain returns to balance. I sometimes wonder if our ancestors had to deal with this as well, or if it is a result of more abstract stress inducing modern life that finds no real release. Especially in urban 20-35 year olds this disorder has risen to almost 10% the past few years.
90% hunter gatherers? Anatomically modern Homo sapiens has existed for at least 200-300 thousand years, farming/agriculture for maybe 10-12 thousand. That’s at least 95% hunter gatherers. Not to mention our pre-Homo sapiens ancestors also hunted and gathered. You could probably say hunting and gathering in a semi modern context has existed since the time of Homo erectus nearly 2 million years ago. With that in mind, we’ve farmed for 0.6% of that time.
now i understand why i keep going camping regular to isolated locations, i have already disconnected from much of the modern world, downgraded my smart phone to a dumb phone, binned netflix/amazon, limited my time perusal tv to 1-2 hours in the evening (usually while doing a sewing project or having supper)
Many days I just go into the woods on my land ( lucky to have it). It wild and I’ve cut a good trail down to the stream. It’s quiet and peaceful. 2 hrs there or (even better) an overnight, is enough to settle my brain for many days. It’s something really missing in many people’s lives, unfortunately.
Thank you for making this article, its one of the best things I’ve watched on YT for a long while, and it made me laugh a lot. I work in addiction and run an anxiety workshop and talk to my clients about the delayed return environment a lot and our inability to cope with modern living, they love it when they realise how much of our problems with dealing with everyday life is due to our biological evolution and find ways to better cope with it in a more natural way. I like your suggestions on phone/tech usage and will be borrowing them! I’ve also recently got back into playing around with sticks because of your articles too, i never realised why having a stick just feels so right and why it is something that is so instinctual as a child! So thanks for opening my eyes to that too. Subbed to your website.
One other skill is understanding your environment to a level of knowing the function of the individual elements. What plants are good for food? Where and how do you find game? What spots are best for fishing and when? Where is there dangerous terrain, plants, or animals? Today, we don’t need to be as aware of our environment, so we are less in-tune with what it can provide.
Last month I moved out of the city and I feel so much better, I enjoy the sunrise at 6 am, I never liked to wake up early now I wake up just for that sunrise. I take pictures of the sunset almost every day. I cook my food in a cauldron just cuz I can. And I gather wild plants for tea and dry them, it is so relaxing. We have pheasant in the area I will try to make a bow and hunt one. Do you have a article on how to make a bow?
An additional item for the list of modern problems is the sheer number of people you need to interact with now. Many of these interactions are anonymous and impersonal, but important ad intense none the less. For example just act of driving from point a to b requires interacting with every vehical and driver on the road. A typical grocery or big box store can contain hundreds of people in the same space. The sheer number of these interactions – especially with strangers – is novel for our species.
I think this is one of the best articles I’ve ever seen on you tube! Unfortunately a chronic illness diagnosis last year has meant I’m no longer able to be active without nasty consequences. So I’ll have to ponder how to move again. Maybe tai chi or something. I’m not able to get out into the wild any more, but maybe i can do something in my backyard! Leave the phone inside and watch the clouds perhaps. Thanks for the awesome article and the food for thought!
“Reading ‘Hunter-Gatherer’s Survival Guide for the 21st Century’ was eye-opening! The emphasis on adapting ancient wisdom to modern life is refreshing. The suggestion of implementing four daily habits from our ancestors’ lifestyle is intriguing. It’s amazing how incorporating simple habits can potentially enhance our well-being in today’s fast-paced world. Excited to implement these practices and see how they positively impact my daily life!”
I have a message that I’m sharing where I can, some may not want to hear this, but I ask that we stay polite and seek truth together. 😊 Love is an action. Feed the hungry, house the homeless, father the orphan, and protect the defenseless and vulnerable. Read the Word for yourself, not only relying on others for guidance. Pray for guidance.Yahushua/Yeshua – His Hebrew name who is usually called (Jesus) taught to keep the whole Word. Including the Law/Torah. Matthew 5:17 “Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not (g)the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished! 19 Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches (h)others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever (i)keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Read 1 John. John tells us that sin is lawlessness, and that we must keep the commandments. Trust in the atonement of Yahushua/Yeshua who is usually called Jesus, and keep God (YHWH)’s whole Word/commandments. Revelation 12:17 So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 14:12 Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
for me it’s forced dependency and the inability to make my own path. and, of course, being blocked from the wilderness in a dirty filthy city. “grades, co-op, salary!” are all the words i hear. if i don’t spend 90% of my time on those, then i’m a lazy fuck with no future. i was raised by city people too, so they either fear or don’t care about the wilderness.
Why do I feel like I just listened to a therapist 😅 Jokes aside. I feel like you really understand me, even if we don’t know each other. I can relate to everything you said. I also tried to find a job connected to nature and the woods (even though at the moment and for another year more I am caught in an office job 😥), I also like martial arts because they confront me with a real basic “survive!” task (even though my martial arts don’t involve sticks anymore – though I did do bowshooting for a while), and many other things you said just feel 100% like I you understand me. Thanks, man.
Today I had some free time after work. I decided I would finally go out and identify some Yarrow for a future project. A simple task for some. For me; I either have no teacher, or many. And if I have many, you are one of my favourites. I found what I was looking for today on my small trek. But I found what I really needed when I watched this article afterwards. You really have a way of looking at life that resonates on so many profound levels, yet it’s so basic that it easily gets overlooked inside the mess of modern life. All the way from southern Ontario, Canada; Stay wild my friend 🏕🪵🔥🙂👍🏻✌️👋
I’ve found the most important Youtuber I’ve needed in my life. I’ve been reading an awful lot about these Pictish men that I share chromosomes with and, man have I felt … Just out of place lately. Like I’ve been taken away from something that was really, really important to me. Uh … Thank you and bless you for bringing me back to that thing.. I’ve needed a mentor. Greatly.
First of, I absolutely love your website and I have done so for many years. Your content is very well made and as a european archaeologist I enjoy the outreach you do in teaching people the skills of the past. That being said, and I’m not gonna “uhm actually” you through this entire comment, but…I might. I have specialised in paleolithic (oldest stoneage) through much of my academic career. The notion that one would spent the majority of their time hunting has been theorised to be flawed. The estimated amount of people in Britian around the end of the last ice age is less than 100.000 people. Considering that on top of the sudden heating period imidiatly after the last ice age, the number of animals that the people hunted would had been much higher than today. It’s theorised that paleolithic hunter gatherers didn’t spent more than two hours at most hunting every day, which is more time than I spend shopping. Then, the notion of ‘keeping the inner hunter-gatherer happy’ while I find it interesting and that I support the premise of the article, is quite simple: 1) Eat as much as possible, particulaly things that have a high content of fats, sugars and salt. Someday you might need the reserves stored in your body. 2) Make a lot of babies, if you can, because some of them will die. You will be old some day (hopefully reach 30), so you will need a caretaker. 3) Be good at whatever you do. Hunting, story telling, carving, painting, whatever. If you don’t contribute, you might as well throw yourself off a cliff (but make babies before you do)
Nonsense is a matter of degree, but to propose to a large audience of civilized people that these things actually apply to them is risible. To go back to hunter-gatherer conditions of society means a population crash that is difficult to envision. Most people would just die. In the words of another Scot: “Until about the third millennium BC, there was no noticeable change in social patterns on any time scale measured in less than centuries. Around that time, the first permanent settlements that we’d recognize as towns arose, facilitated by the discovery of agriculture. With them appeared writing and codified law and the rudiments of government. \t”From that time on, there was no turning back. An agricultural civilization can support far more people in a given area than a hunter-gatherer lifestyle— but the transition from a hunter-gatherer society to agriculture is strictly a one-way process. If you try to reverse it, most of your people will starve to death: they simply won’t be able to acquire enough food. This was the first of many such one-way processes in the historical record. Arguably, it’s the existence of these one-way transitions that gives rise to the appearance of inexorable historical progress; it’s not that reversals are impossible, it’s simply that after a reversal there’ll be nobody left to keep a written record of it.” – Charles Stross, Introduction: After the Future Imploded, from Toast, p. 10
I feel as if just yesterday I was battling my first ever genuine friend with an umbrella on his front lawn. We would make up stupid fighting styles that were impractical and focused on the delivery and how many spins you could do or how far you could throw your umbrella. Now, not too long after, I’m laying down trying to figure out why I can’t hold myself together like I used to. Thank you for this insight, this genuinely helped me figure some things out. Have a wonderful evening.
The key is to disable notifications and sound. We don’t even have a doorbell and never allow the phone to audibly ring. I enjoy life the most when the electricity goes out or I’m backpacking. I make my living with electronics, but they do not rule my life. Now, where’s my tablet? I want to catch up on Outlander tonight.
Stumbled upon your articles a few nights ago . A happy accident . They have become my favourite procrastinations while I am at work . I’m now considering a staff and kilt . Here in Surrey they have until now been the reserve of middle class weddings between school teachers called Angus or Callum who’s grandparents had a tenuous link to Scotland .
I love love love this article. I showed it to my colleague. Its very informative and well made with abit of humour too. Always makes me wanna break out my bow and arrow I’m always trying to find more ways to be more hunter gatherer and I wholeheartedly agree with everything in this article. I just found out 17% of us brits are on anti depressants! That’s mad. Modern civilization is so catastrophic to our mental health 17% cant even get by without tablets. Let’s not forget the alcoholics and the druggies too. Something is seriously wrong. We must get more in touch with actually being human instead of living constantly in the cyber world.
Just imagine being lost in the highlands at night and suddenly stumbling upon a solitary man. He kindly asks you to sit down, offers you a warm drink, shares captivating stories, and eventually serenades you with an ancient tune until you drift off to sleep. The next morning, you wake up to find him mysteriously vanished without a trace.
I really like your articles, but the reality is that most people have to work 9-5pm (since the 19th century), so they have very little time to do any of this, as they don’t have the option. If they have a professional job, especially, it’s un-realistic. Yeah, you can do it on the weekend, but it will never become who you are as it’s a minimal amount of your life.
I found this article when I was looking for references for my writing material, only to agree with everything that was said here. It’s true when he said we can be more peaceful and happier when we’re not addicted to social media and receive constant stimulation from our devices. I took a break from college because my mental health was deteriorating fast to the point where I felt like disappearing was a better option than spending another day trying to barely survive. For those 2 years I took a time off, I stayed in a relative’s house faaar away from the city with barely any signal. Had no assignments either so I don’t have a need to use my laptop. No need for instagram because there’s nothing worthy of showing except for the woods behind the house. Could only eat healthy, organic food since there are no restaurants and food delivery service. I REALLY felt the difference. My mind is at ease, my anxiety and depression disappeared, I gained confidence bc I lost weight from my healthy diet and it didn’t felt forced, and I got even more confident after I started the habit of working out in my free time. Now? I’m back to college with a much better attitude. I don’t have social anxiety anymore and I can talk to people, I do things the way I like it without worrying about other people’s opinion, I’m more chill, now I mainly use the internet to learn, I have better self care routine, I felt like I could breeze through life and the difficulties it throws at me. TLDR: give yourself a break from those digital stimuli, get some time off.
I found this article intriguing and think you are doing a fantastic job at what you have set out to do! I only have one criticism. You have a trinity knot in your logo. That would be the only thing missing from your discussions. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. With you putting together such rich talks on Celtic Culture and history, incorporating this part of the Celtic people would make your website unique and stand out above all the rest.
I’m curious to know more about your back injury and how you went from having an injury to being able to do all of that physical activity. I have chronic pain in most of my joints, however I have been a martial artist for almost a decade going to classes and practicing upwards of four times a week on average in that time. I’ve also done other sports like hockey and horseback riding and my job isn’t exactly active but it also isn’t sedentary. All of that being said sitting down without the back of a chair for longer than 5 minutes causes excruciating pain. My knees are terrible and squatting is very difficult, and I have very little upper body strength because I have very little core strength. I do all of the things that everybody suggests and yet I still have pain from basic movement. Please, and part upon me your wisdom and how you went from a back injury to where you are now. Ps, this is the first article of yours that I have found and I am totally hooked. I absolutely love it and your personality and the voice you portray.
I was a bit unsure how much i would like this article at first… it showed up randomly in my recommended and most of my experience with primitivism is rather political (not the good kind either). But by the second minute you had me hooked, I could tell you were coming at this from a good perspective, and you weren’t trying to push any products or ideologies. I’ve been reading and learning a lot about trauma recently, and I thought it was surprising how much what you talked about matched what I’ve read. In “The Body Keeps The Score,” van der Kolk talks about how trauma isn’t so much about what happened, but about how you could deal with it. He suggests that situations where you were trapped and unable to act out fight or flight, those are traumatic. If you are allowed to run or fight, your body can act as designed, and dissipate adrenaline and cortisol. He focuses a lot on how trauma isn’t in the brain so much as the body, hence the title of the book. I thought it was really interesting, and I wanted to share. It’s an excellent book and even if you aren’t dealing with trauma it helps to learn how the body and mind work. Thank you for this article!
Your awesome dude. I spend hours in the forest everyday of the year with my dog as I forage mushrooms and plants and practice bushcraft and may own martial arts. This forest is all I got going for me keeping me sane, and it’s powerful. Offers more than I can take advantage of. I got a shitty apartment but there’s an unused mature 25 acre forest outside my door. This can’t last forever, so I try to learn as much as I can and use it for all I can now. The far sides of it have been destroyed and clusterfuck housing built. I used to have passage to connecting forests, and would travel for miles whistling my dog to get to the fake lake full of fucktards, but I never went that far except once. Best to turn around before the public riverside park and stay out of sight to avoid turdbag encounters shitting my day up. I know now, that I must always have a forest to be alone in with just my dog. Had lived free on a gravel bar beside a mountain river in my motorhome with her before, that was real nice. Its all felony camping in Tennessee now though. They destroyed the beautiful natural sand and gravel beach where we lived, and so many people used for public river access. Filled it with giant chunks of Concrete demolition debris with jagged 20′ rebar spikes, and all the trees there destroyed. I used to hike with my doggy Nina up and through the mountains and along the river, and swam and bathed and fished legally, and even hiked in deep and then up to find an old civil war time Ghost Town, that’s been abandoned less than a hundred years.