Final answer:
Bands are primarily associated with the gathering-hunting subsistence system, characterized by mobility and egalitarian social structures. Tribal societies use pastoralism or horticulture, with more complex political organization. Chiefdoms and states represent further social evolution with agriculture and trade at their core.
Step-by-step explanation:
The subsistence system most identified with bands is gathering-hunting. Bands are small-scale societies that often move in seasonal cycles and have a highly mobile lifestyle. They primarily rely on environmental resources rather than the accumulation of wealth, which is characterized by the frequent movement following herds of wild game or the seasonal availability of plants. As established by anthropologist Elman Service, these societies are largely egalitarian, lacking a formal political structure and often coordinating through cross-band relationships facilitated by kinship and alliances.
In comparison, tribal societies may rely on pastoralism or horticulture, and these modes of subsistence are associated with the control over and inheritance of resources such as animals or land. Tribal societies have a more complex social organization, using extended family structures or councils for leadership and conflict resolution, and are typically larger than bands.
While chiefdoms and states represent more advanced forms of social organization, with chiefdoms developing on the basis of agricultural surplus and states incorporating multiple modes of subsistence as well as engaging in military conquest and regional trade. These categories illustrate an evolution in social and subsistence strategies as outlined by Service's evolutionary framework.