The Paharias lived in the Rajmahal hills and were mainly hunters, shifting cultivators and food gatherers. For their livelihood they were dependant on the forests and used it for various purposes like collecting Mahua(flower) or silk cocoons for sale. They collected wood from the forests and in cases of scarcity even raided nearby plains where permanent settlers lived.

The Santhals, on the other hand had come in Bengal around 1780s and started earning their livelihood by cutting down the trees for timber and clearing the forests. For commercial purposes they cultivated many commercially important crops like rice and cotton on the land they cleared.