• What are nomadic and sedentary peoples?
• Characteristics of nomadism
• Characteristics of sedentary lifestyle
• Differences between nomadic and sedentary peoples

We explain what nomadic and sedentary peoples are, the characteristics of each one and the differences between them.

Although sedentary lifestyle began 9,000 years ago, nomadism still exists.

What are nomadic and sedentary peoples?

Nomads are peoples whose model of life is wandering. On the contrary, the sedentary are those who choose a single place to live and settle. These two models of life can be found today in different communities human beings, although a sedentary lifestyle is the main and most widespread way of life of our species.

The leap from the original nomadism of the primitive human horde, to the typical sedentary lifestyle of civilization, took place during the so-called Neolithic Revolution of around 9,000 years ago, when the farming. That is to say, agriculture allowed the beginning of sedentarism.

The possibility of sowing and tilling the land to obtain food in great quantity it revolutionized everything: it was no longer necessary to travel the nature in pursuit of food (gathering), but one could stay in the same place, protect it well and, if the harvests were abundant, free time could be had. These are the foundations of human civilization.

However, this transition also implied sacrifices: the change towards sedentary lifestyle separated us from nature, giving rise to a way of life typical of the human being which soon spread to other animals, through the domestication. It also impoverished our diverse and varied diet, typical of omnivorous animals, making it more dependent on grains and meats.

Characteristics of nomadism

Prehistoric nomadism allowed the human being to spread almost all over the world.

Nomadism is characterized, fundamentally, by a wandering way of life, without a fixed and determined home. Which also has the following characteristics:

• Constant displacement is necessary, since once the means of the region busy, you must find another available one.
• The constant movement prevents the formation of communities that are too elaborate politically, socially and economically.
• Nomads acquire an exhaustive knowledge of geography, the nature that surrounds them and the paths traveled.
• Their diet and activities in general are adapted to the resources available in the area where they are.
• In the prehistory, could cover immense amounts of territory in his wandering, colonizing new continents and expanding the human presence to all corners. However, their movement was not random: they tended to move cyclically between different known territories.

Characteristics of sedentary lifestyle

The sedentary lifestyle gave rise to the appearance of the first towns and cities.

The sedentary lifestyle is characterized, first of all, by the permanence of the group human in the same and only place, which becomes your permanent home. Sedentary communities establish themselves, take root, and eventually develop a sense of belonging to the place where they live. This also implies other characteristics:

• By staying for generations in the same place, strong communities are formed with a sense of community belonging.
• Sedentary life allows the development of more complex economic, social and political dynamics, thanks to the division of work and the fact that they do not invest time in moving and reestablishing.
• Sedentary communities are sustained largely by the farming and the possibility of the accumulation of goods.
• Sedentarism founds a clearly human social and biological space, that is, directed by our species, which eventually led to the first cities.

Differences between nomadic and sedentary peoples

Nomadic peoples do not usually accumulate many belongings.

The differences between nomadic peoples and sedentary peoples are as follows:

Nomadic peoples	Sedentary peoples
They constantly migrate from a known territory to others, at the rate of consumption of available resources. They do not have a fixed and determined home.	They remain in the same place that they condition to be their home for generations. They produce what they need right there.
Its main economic activities are gathering, hunting and fishing.	Its main economic activity is agriculture, but it is then joined by an immense variety of activities possible thanks to the continuous flow of food.
Possess societies less politically structured and dependent on blood and family for their cultural identity.	They have more politically and economically structured societies, in which the notion of geographic belonging arises (which later will be the idea of ​​“nation”).
They build houses that are fragile and easy to dismantle, or take advantage of caves and other available sites.	They build homes made to last over time and to withstand the onslaught of the elements.
They are in intimate relationship with their natural environment.	They inhabit a distinctly human environment, with the exception of domesticated animals.
They have little capacity to accumulate (and little desire for it, since they will have to move quickly). They always carry the bare minimum with them.	They have a great capacity to accumulate goods and food, which translates into the ability to survive the most difficult climatic seasons, to obtain free time to dedicate to other activities, and to feed large exchange networks.