The Human Biology of Pastoral Populations

by Edited by William R. Leonard , Michael H. Crawford

• ISBN13: 9780521780162
• ISBN10: 0521780160
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-03-25
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Animal-herding (pastoralism) is a subsistence strategy that is practised by populations of low-producing ecosystems worldwide. Increasingly, it is vanishing due to land pressure and ecological degradation, particularly in the developing world. While previous books have examined the social, cultural and economic dimensions of the pastoral way of life, until now there has been no systematic examination of the biology and health of pastoral groups. The Human Biology of Pastoral Populations fills this gap by drawing together our current knowledge of the biology, population structure and ecology of herding populations. It investigates how pastoral populations adapt to limited and variable food availability, the implications of the herding way of life for reproductive patterns, population structure and genetic diversity and the impacts of ongoing social and ecological changes on the health and well-being of these populations. This volume will be of broad interest to scholars in anthropology, human biology, genetics and demography.

Table of Contents

List of contributors	ix
The biological diversity of herding populations: an introduction	1	(9)
Michael H. Crawford
William R. Leonard
Genetic structure of pastoral populations of Siberia: the Evenki of central Siberia and the Kizhi of Gorno Altai	10	(40)
Michael H. Crawford
Joseph McComb
Moses S. Schanfield
R. John Mitchell
Genetic structure of the Basque herders of northern Spain	50	(14)
Rosario Calderon
History, demography, marital patterns and immigration rate in the South Sinai Bedouins: their effect on the coefficient of inbreeding(F)	64	(35)
E. Kobyliansky
I. Hershkovitz
Uncertain disaster: environmental instability, colonial policy, and the resilience of East African pastoral systems	99	(32)
Sandra Gray
Paul Leslie
Helen Alinga Akol
Changing pattern of Tibetan nomadic pastoralism	131	(20)
Melvyn C. Goldstein
Cynthia M. Beall
Human biology, health and ecology of nomadic Turkana pastoralists	151	(32)
Michael A. Little
Economic stratification and health among the Herero of Botswana	183	(23)
Renee L. Pennington
Ecology, health and lifestyle change among the Evenki herders of Siberia	206	(30)
William R. Leonard
Victoria A. Galloway
Evgueni Ivakine
Ludmilla Osipova
Marina Kazakovtseva
Disease patterns in Sami and Finnish populations: an update	236	(15)
Simo Nayha
Pauliluoma
Saara Lehtinen
Terho Lehtimaki
Mary Jane Mosher
Juhani Leppaluoto
Yomut family organization and demography	251	(29)
William Irons
Pastoralism and the evolution of lactase persistence	280	(28)
Clare Holden
Ruth Mace
Index	308