Question

Why did the hunter-gatherers migrate from place to place? In what ways are these similar to or different from the reasons for which we migrate today?

Answer 1

Instruction:
This answer for this question can be broken down into two parts

1. First, mention the reasons why the hunters and gatherers migrated. (2.5 marks)
2. Second, compare and contrast their reason with present day reasons for migration. (2.5 marks)

Answer:
Hunter-gatherers migrated from place to place due to the following reasons:

• In search of new resources: If they stayed at one place for a long time, they would have eaten up all the plant and animal resources available at that place.
• In search of animals: As animals move from place to place in search of food, hunters also move to chase them for hunting.
• In search of seasonal resources: Plants and trees bear fruit in different seasons. So, when the season changed, food gatherers had to move to another place to gather different fruits.
• In search of water: They also had to travel in search of water as mostly the lakes and rivers were seasonal.

However, nowadays we travel for different purposes, like:

1. Migration due to Education: Now-a-days, students travel to different places for better and higher levels of education
2. Migration for work: People also travel in search of better career and employment opportunities.
3. Travel for trade purposes: People also travel to various places in search of trade transactions.
4. Travel for entertainment purposes: We travel from one place to another to entertain ourselves, like going to a circus, a zoo or sightseeing, exploring new places etc.