ABSTRACT
At the heart of any study of cultural ways must be some basic grasp of how people make their living. The repertoires of food- and shelter-getting techniques, and the knowledge of how to apply them, are referred to as subsistence practices. Four basic subsistence practices are commonly recognized, including foraging (hunting and gathering), horticulture (gardening), pastoralism (herding), and agriculture (farming), and all of these are relevant in some way to understanding Plains Indian life. Owing to the importance of horse and buffalo herds to their survival, Indians on the Plains developed cultures that in many ways resembled those of famous nomadic pastoralists like the Bedouins of Arabia and Mongols of central Asia. In strictest terms, however, the Plains Natives were hunters and gatherers, with some also practicing gardening. The best way to approach their subsistence practices is by examining the species that they depended on the most: the bison and other game, the horse and dog, and plants, domestic and wild.
