Primary Industry
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Basic Information

Primary Industry is that part of human endeavour that produces unrefined raw materials - this generally means fishing and other foraging activities, agriculture (including animal husbandry) and extractive industries - normally mining, logging and the like (panning for salt is probably included for example). Primary products are then processed in Secondary Industry for use in tertiary and higher levels.

This is the sort of activity that underlies pretty much all human life - without it nothing is going to happen. Primary industry is the default business of villages and smaller settlements and in most cases will constitute most of the economic activity in pretty much all pre-modern economies. Although there are a variety of tech levels at which any of these industries can operate, they will also tend to constitute the least well developed part of their host economy.

Sources

Bibliography
1. full source reference

Game and Story Use

  • When world building, note that each village will normally specialise in one primary industry (although most will also be self feeding).
  • As (comparitively) low skilled work, this is the sort of thing likely to be undertaken by slaves, prisoners and other forms of unfree labour.
  • The exact form of industry undertaken will have a significant effect on the character of a settlement - a mining village will differ greatly from a farming one for example.
  • Where demographics matter, most of the population will be involved in some aspect of this.
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