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Subsistence is the action or fact of maintaining or supporting oneself at a minimum level.

The following is a list of subsistence techniques:

• Hunting and Gathering techniques, also known as Foraging:
  • Artisan fishing — a term which particularly applies to coastal or island ethnic groups using traditional techniques for subsistence fishing.
• Cultivation:
  • Horticulture — plant cultivation, based on the use of simple tools.
  • Subsistence agriculture — agricultural cultivation involving continuous use of arable (crop) land, and is more labor-intensive than horticulture.

• Pastoralism, the raising of grazing animals:
  • Pastoral nomadism — all members of the pastoral society follow the herd throughout the year.
  • Transhumance or agro-pastoralism — part of the society follows the herd, while the other part maintains a home village.
  • Ranch agriculture — non-nomadic pastoralism with a defined territory.

• Distribution and Exchange:
  • Redistribution
  • Reciprocity — exchange between social equals.
  • Potlatching — a widely studied ritual in which sponsors (helped by their entourages) gave away resources and manufactured wealth while generating prestige for themselves.
  • LETS — Local Exchange Trading Systems.

See also[link]

• Anthropological theories of value
• Staple food
• Society