Which subsistence system relies on herding domesticated animals and moving to find fresh pastures?

• A. Pastoral nomadism
• B. Sedentary farming
• C. Market gardening
• D. Plantation agriculture

Answer: (A)

Pastoral nomadism centers on using domesticated animals as the primary means of subsistence and moving with the herds to follow fresh pastures and water. This mobility is essential because forage quality and availability change with the seasons and often across landscapes, especially in dry or semi-arid regions. By roaming to new grazing lands, the people keep their livestock healthy and productive, and they rely on animal products—milk, meat, hides—for their food and trade.

In contrast, sedentary farming means staying in one place to grow crops, using fields year after year. Market gardening emphasizes growing crops for sale in markets, typically in a settled setting and with intensive cultivation. Plantation agriculture involves large-scale, usually export-oriented crop production on fixed plantations, not the mobile, animal-centered subsistence strategy described here.