In my SFF novel, I have a mountain village that is the primary setting. For this village, the important thing about it is that they were once a nomadic clan, but they took to the mountains and settled there and were never seen again... until my MC arrives and is shocked to see a thriving civilization there. I'm struggling to figure out how the village is sustained. They live way to far away from the city to share their economic system. They live near a river (run off from thawing snow from the high mountain peaks) and have crops. the village chief has livestock. They mine minerals and precious gems in the caves to trade with other clans. They also have certain plants and wildlife in the mountains that they also trade with other clans. They have also developed medicines and have doctors (my MC was amazed to see how advanced they were in medicine) but WTHIN the village.... i cant really think of a parallel to base it off of. My MC is expected to live in this place... but as of right now, I cant think of a daily routine for her (until the main plot stuff happens). She has no money, n clothes, no belongings. Would a village still have hunter-gatherers? Would individual families have to fend for themselves or would there be a market to by food and clothes? Would that mean there are specific jobs-- like cobbler, miller, etc? that would mean my MC would need money and therefore a paying job to survive? they'd have some kind of a money system, correct?
You could look into the dynamics of settled American Indian societies prior to pre-European arrival. The Iroquois-language group people might be a starting place. Something that sticks in my mind is from a book called One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus. One of the women joining the Indian society was an artist. She bartered her decorative skills for the physical things necessary to a good life. Perhaps your MC has a similar skill and can employ it to gradually improve her standing in the society. She could employ the old business model of looking around to see what was needed and filling the need. Does the village need a potter or basket maker? The village has gems and minerals; is there a place for a jeweler or a blacksmith? She could also take her skill and create a market for her products. Perhaps the villagers all bake their own bread, but she turns out a variety of baked goods, not only relieving people of a regular chore, but providing them with tasty choices they've never had before. There wouldn't have to be a formal currency based on the gold standard. Cowrie shells were used as a form of currency in societies that ranged from the northwestern United States to west Africa.
What are their sources of nutrition? Do they farm? If so, how do they do that? Historically, mountain societies often used terracing to develop sufficient farmlands - the Aztecs and Japanese did this. What about livestock? How much livestock do they have and what type? If it's not sufficient, there will still be some call for hunting. How do they refine the minerals they excavate? Ore is too bulky to transport in quantity, so they'll need some method of refining it. There will need to be smelters and possibly blacksmiths, depending on whether they produce finished products or just trade for them. Likewise, rough gemstones can be unattractive and easily mistaken for rocks to the untrained eye, so there will need to be someone to carry out appraisals. Their need for utensils such as pots, earthenware and suchlike will again depend on whether they produce things themselves or trade for them. Premodern societies often used communal facilities, so there might need to be a baker (unless each family produces its own bread). What about the collection of firewood, or charcoal? The life of a pre-modern villager was very much focused on the basics needed to remain alive - production of food, shelter, clothing and other life necessities. Her life would be based around that. Perhaps she makes cloth, or clothes from animal skins and fabric?
There's so many elements to create a functioning society I doubt there wouldn't be something she wouldn't be needed for. Without machines everything is a pretty big process. I would pick out something that could best be used as a metaphor for her situation. What if she feels rejected and she gets a lowly job like handling the refuse. Or some unmanageable animals that nobody else wants to deal with. What if she finds beauty or function in something they tossed away elevating her status.
