Geographical Distribution: (India)
a) Baiga (Madhya Pradesh)
b) Lepcha (Assam)
c) purum (Nagaland and Manipur)
d) santhal ( Jharkhand)
e) Gond (Andhra Pradesh , Madhya Pradesh)
f) Bagata (Andhra Pradesh)
g) oraon (Bihar)
h) Ho ( Jharkhand)
i) Bhil (Rajasthan)
Characteristics:
(1) Sedentarism – Since agriculture is a form of intensive cultivation, relying on the use of animals and a dependable water supply to work and rework a particular land area, agricultural communities are generally permanent .
(2) High population density – Among the agriculturists, population density is very high because agriculture can support vast population.
( 3) Permanent villages – Agriculturists maintain permanent village communities because they have dependable water supplies to work and rework a particular land area.
( 4) Complex economic resources :
(a)complex Technology – It includes farm equipment and several methods of cultivation. The equipment includes ploughs, harness, levelers, knifes, spades, sickles, seed drills and others. The important operations are ploughing, sowing , weeding , irrigation and harvesting. Tools and other productive goods are complex and difficult to make. Individual ownership becomes more absolute. Rights to ownership are more vigorously applied.
b)Division of labour – This is also complex, it is based on age. Example of high degree of specialization of labour is associated with social classes. Therefore this society develops specialization of labour, with various activities performed only by certain classes of people, (administrators, warriors, merchants, carpenters, metal-workers and other artisans).
c)Land Ownership – In agricultural societies, the notion of ownership becomes more pronounced. individuals(to some degree) and groups(to a greater degree) claim to own certain land animals, Land ownership determines title to land on cess to water supplies for irrigation complex rules govern allocation of land resources. Sometimes lineages and clans own separate lands. Tools and other productive goods are complex and difficult to make. Individual ownership becomes more absolute, Rights to ownership are more vigorously applied.
d)Capital: Capital includes drought animals, plough levelers, spades, sickles, manure and other materials.
e)Production – Among the agriculturists, production follow the yearly economic cycle. The patterns of work involving the production of farm goods follow the seasons and needs of the social classes. The yearly economic cycle in a village is a good example of production of goods and services in an agricultural community.
f) Distribution – Distribution system reveals the working of reciprocity and re-distribution and chief mechanisms for circulation of goods. In India, Pakistan , Bangladesh, Sri Lanka etc. there is ‘Jajmani ’ system in which the castes with different professions exchange their goods and services. There is market based exchange system. Trade has assumed greater importance.
g) Consumption Pattern – The consumption pattern reveals both immediate and delayed ways of utilizing the goods. A part of the produce is disposed
off in order to meet the household expenditure besides reserving something as cattle raising for the next crop.
h) Leadership: Agriculture is normally found in connection with state systems. By a state system is meant a political system, which is headed by a central authority often one person, under which there functions a bureaucracy. Here, power and authority is common.
i) Ideology of kinship – Kinship becomes less important in the organisation of social, relations, especially as regards economic activities. And also it influences the lives of individuals. The state provides a political-legal service in return for economic support.
j) Emergence of Priesthood: Religion among agriculturists, may be polytheistic, but always the deities are subordinate to a high God, a deity with power , authority and control over the lesser deities. Priests emerged as an integral part of religious system. Priests are full-time religious practitioners. Priests may be considered specialists within the state bureaucracy; i.e., they handle a certain political area (social control through religion) . The state, in one way or another, is the church and vice-versa.
k) Warfare and Conflicts – The emphasis on resources and their ownership or control in agricultural societies also leads to a more strict nation of territoriality. This, along with population pressure , contributes in the occurrence of warfare, which is a characteristic of expanding agricultural societies.