Hunter-Gatherers: An Interdisciplinary Perspective

by Edited by Catherine Panter-Brick , Robert H. Layton , Peter Rowley-Conwy

• ISBN13: 9780521776721
• ISBN10: 0521776724
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-04-09
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Analyses of the ecology, biology and society of past and present-day hunter-gatherers are at the core of this interdisciplinary volume. Since the seminal work of Man the Hunter in 1968, new research in these three areas has become increasingly specialized, and the lines of communication among academic disciplines have all but broken down. This volume aims to reestablish an interdisciplinary debate, presenting critical issues commanding an ongoing interest in hunter-gatherer research, covering the evolution and history, demography, biology, technology, social organization, art, and language of diverse groups. As a reference text, this book will be useful to scholars and students of social anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology, and human sciences.

Table of Contents

Contributors	xi
Lines of enquiry	1	(11)
Catherine Panter-Brick
Robert H. Layton
Peter Rowley-Conwy
Areas of research	1	(1)
Is `hunter-gatherer' a meaningful category?	2	(1)
How have hunter-gatherers been characterised?	3	(3)
Diversity of approaches: hunter-gatherer variability	6	(4)
References	10	(2)
The behavioural ecology of hunter-gatherers	12	(27)
Bruce Winterhalder
Ethnographic variability and behavioural ecology	12	(1)
Models and applications	13	(17)
Key features of foraging economies	30	(1)
The assumption of constrained optimisation	31	(2)
Conclusions: the foraging mode of production	33	(2)
References	35	(4)
Time, change and the archaeology of hunter-gatherers: how original is the `Original Affluent Society'?	39	(34)
Peter Rowley-Conwy
The Original Affluent Society	39	(1)
Hunter-gatherer variability	40	(4)
Progressivist views of complexity	44	(4)
Hunter-gatherer complexity: the archaeological record	48	(16)
Conclusions	64	(1)
References	65	(8)
Hunter-gatherer technology: macro- and microscale approaches	73	(26)
Robin Torrence
Scales of analysis	73	(1)
Macroscale approaches	74	(15)
Microscale approaches	89	(2)
Gender, symbolism and style	91	(2)
A synthesis	93	(2)
References	95	(4)
The antiquity of hunter-gatherers	99	(44)
Steven L. Kuhn
Mary C. Stiner
Introduction	99	(1)
Hunters of the recent and remote past	100	(1)
Variation in recent hunter-gatherer diet and technology	101	(6)
The Pleistocene evidence: cultural geography in the Palaeolithic	107	(19)
What about the Early Upper Palaeolithic?	126	(1)
Conclusion	127	(2)
References	129	(14)
Language shift and language spread among hunter-gatherers	143	(27)
Patrick McConvell
Introduction	143	(2)
Language shift among hunter-gatherers in recent history	145	(1)
Prehistoric language shift: the agricultural expansion model	146	(2)
Equilibrium approaches to linguistic prehistory	148	(2)
A social evolutionary approach to prehistoric language spread	150	(4)
A geographical approach	154	(4)
Pama-Nyungan expansion in Australia	158	(5)
Expansionist systems	163	(2)
Conclusions	165	(1)
References	166	(4)
Hunter-gatherer demography	170	(35)
Renee Pennington
Introduction	170	(1)
The big picture	171	(2)
Fertility	173	(17)
Survival	190	(5)
Putting it together	195	(3)
Conclusions	198	(2)
References	200	(5)
Nutritional ecology: diet, physical activity and body size	205	(34)
Mark R. Jenike
Introduction	205	(2)
Nutritional ecology	207	(1)
Diet	208	(10)
Energy expenditure	218	(4)
Body size	222	(4)
Variation in nutritional ecologies	226	(3)
Conclusion	229	(1)
References	230	(9)
Evolutionary biology and health of hunter-gatherer populations	239	(28)
Alain Froment
Introduction	239	(1)
Adaptations to ecological constraints	240	(5)
Genetic issues	245	(5)
Medical constraints	250	(8)
Conclusion: future changes	258	(3)
References	261	(6)
Hunting for images, gathering up meanings: art for life in hunting-gathering societies	267	(25)
Margaret W. Conkey
Introduction	267	(3)
What do we mean by `art'?	270	(3)
How anthropologists study `art'	273	(3)
`Art' in hunter-gatherer context(s)	276	(2)
Researching and interpreting hunter-gatherer arts	278	(6)
Some conclusions	284	(2)
References	286	(6)
Hunter-gatherers, their neighbours and the nation state	292	(30)
Robert H. Layton
Introduction	292	(1)
What is genuine hunting and gathering?	293	(1)
Change before the origins of agriculture	294	(1)
Processes of interaction	295	(4)
The current condition of hunter-gatherers	299	(5)
Current hunter-gatherer behaviour and academic theory	304	(2)
State policy and hunter-gatherers	306	(8)
Conclusion	314	(1)
References	315	(7)
Glossary	322	(8)
Index	330