Abstract
The activity of hunting to ensure the subsistence of a human group is directly dependent on the accessibility of a certain territory. And the carrying capacity of the latter influences demography, which is considered a determining factor in social structuring. In fact, the size of exploited territories varies greatly according to the productivity of the environment and its seasonal variations. At high latitudes, the territories exploited by hunter-gatherers can be immense (64 000 km2 for the Nunamiuts of northern Alaska). They are populated by populations whose density remains very low, and who must be highly mobile. Conversely, in the past, more favoured areas were populated by more sedentary groups of hunter-gatherers, with larger numbers living in smaller territories. Along this cline, as the possibility of famine diminishes, the ability to generate food surpluses and build up food reserves increases. This led to more hierarchical societies (based on wealth or kinship ties) and the emergence of standardized means of exchange. Denser populations and smaller territories also led to higher levels of inter-group violence. The Amerindians of the northwest coast of North America are one of the most representative examples of this model, with the emergence of a hereditary aristocracy and slavery in economies that were not yet production economies. The link between population density and the rate of technical innovation in Paleolithic societies remains a hotly debated topic.
