Hunter Gatherer Behavior

A major global climate event called the Younger Dryas dramatically affected local environments and human populations at the end of the Pleistocene. This volume is the first book in fifteen years to comprehensively address key questions regarding the extent of this event and how hunter-gatherer populations adapted behaviorally and technologically in the face of major climatic change. An integrated set of theoretical articles and important case studies, written by well-known archaeologists, provide an excellent reference for researchers studying the end of the Pleistocene, as well as those studying hunter-gatherers and their response to climate change.

In the vast anthropological literature devoted to hunter-gatherer societies, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the place of hunter-gatherer children. Children often represent 40 percent of hunter-gatherer populations, thus nearly half the population is omitted from most hunter-gatherer ethnographies and research. This volume is designed to bridge the gap in our understanding of the daily lives, knowledge, and development of hunter-gatherer children. The twenty-six contributors to Hunter-Gatherer Childhoods use three general but complementary theoretical approaches--evolutionary, developmental, cultural--in their presentations of new and insightful ethnographic data. For instance, the authors employ these theoretical orientations to provide the first systematic studies of hunter-gatherer children's hunting, play, infant care by children, weaning and expressions of grief. The chapters focus on understanding the daily life experiences of children, and their views and feelings about their lives and cultural change. Chapters address some of the following questions: why does childhood exist, who cares for hunter-gatherer children, what are the characteristic features of hunter-gatherer children's development and what are the impacts of culture change on hunter-gatherer child care? The book is divided into five parts. The first section provides historical, theoretical and conceptual framework for the volume; the second section examines data to test competing hypotheses regarding why childhood is particularly long in humans; the third section expands on the second section by looking at who cares for hunter-gatherer children; the fourth section explores several developmental issues such as weaning, play and loss of loved ones; and, the final section examines the impact of sedentism and schools on hunter-gatherer children. This pioneering volume will help to stimulate further research and scholarship on hunter-gatherer childhoods, thereby advancing our understanding of the way of life that characterized most of human history and of the processes that may have shaped both human development and human evolution. Barry S. Hewlett is professor of anthropology at Washington State University, Vancouver. Michael E. Lamb is professor of psychology in the social sciences, Cambridge University.

The collector is a pseudo sub-species of human who endeavours to amass items for building wealth, in the pursuit of a hobby or, in extreme cases, as a part of pathological hoarding behaviour. The extreme collector expands what could be considered normal boundaries in terms of using financial resources, encroachment of communal space in a shared home environment, or in the way they go about locating new items to acquire. The hoarder takes collecting to the next, even more extreme level, where the array or items gathered becomes arguably and uncontrollably massive enough to bring the hoarder much criticism from others, usually in the psychological sense. In comparison to the modern collector of things, the hunter-gatherer communities primarily from primitive times, but even today in remote parts of the world followed their collecting behaviour solely for their survival since agriculture and farming had not yet been invented. We refer to these people as foragers. The increasingly rare communities that follow a foraging lifestyle actually exist in the present day, albeit in isolated areas of the world with decreasing land mass; they collect what they need, experiencing increased difficulty in protecting their coveted anonymity. Even when they cross paths with members of modern society, they shun interaction and may even threaten warfare. Modern foraging communities have no immunity to modern diseases, making contact with modern humans threatening to their health and survival. The mindset of todays collector can be compared to that of the primitive foragers as a way of drawing a link between their behaviour and impulses to those of modern humans, suggesting a possible genetic link. In doing so, the psychodynamic aspects of the collector in modern times can be better understood through the anthropological lens. With this connection, therapists can more deeply understand and appreciate the thought process of the modern collector and maybe even that of the hoarder. Families of collectors and hoarders and even the folks collecting and hoarding themselves can evaluate their lifestyle, habits, impulses and drives more deeply, affording them a practical and humanistic view of themselves. The perspectives of the author, who is a self-confessed collector and those of other collectors as well as one hoarder provide a balanced analysis of the interiority of the subject covered by this book. A walkthrough of various types of collections is included along with an illustrative of the thesis. Part of the authors collection of mineral spheres is included in an appendix to provide the reader with a first-hand view of one type of collection. What is hopefully clear to the reader is that the mindset of the collector should not be quickly judged, but carefully evaluated and the collector or hoarder is encouraged to keep an open mind, embracing a new conceptual understanding of the actions they take in pursuit of their passion or obsession. The topic of mental illness is covered to allow for the potential for judgment of the behaviour to be understood for potential treatment protocols. Caution, however, is encouraged with regard to treatment as not every person considered obsessed with their passion is willing to acknowledge their excessive conduct or even would agree their behaviour reaches an obsessive level. Accordingly, treatment as we may think of the word as necessarily leading to reform or reduction in impact may not be possible even with greater insight. Still, we must find a balance between respecting someones chosen lifestyle and suggesting a balanced approach to life that considers not only the person, but those around them as well.

A newly revised and updated edition of the classic guide to reframing our view of ADHD and embracing its benefits • Explains that people with ADHD are not disordered or dysfunctional, but simply “hunters in a farmer’s world”--possessing a unique mental skill set that would have allowed them to thrive in a hunter-gatherer society • Offers concrete non-drug methods and practices to help hunters--and their parents, teachers, and managers--embrace their differences, nurture creativity, and find success in school, at work, and at home • Reveals how some of the world’s most successful people can be labeled as ADHD hunters, including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Andrew Carnegie With 10 percent of the Western world’s children suspected of having Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADHD, and a growing number of adults self-diagnosing after decades of struggle, the question must be raised: How could Nature make such a “mistake”? In this updated edition of his groundbreaking classic, Thom Hartmann explains that people with ADHD are not abnormal, disordered, or dysfunctional, but simply “hunters in a farmer’s world.” Often highly creative and single-minded in pursuit of a self-chosen goal, those with ADHD symptoms possess a unique mental skill set that would have allowed them to thrive in a hunter-gatherer society. As hunters, they would have been constantly scanning their environment, looking for food or threats (distractibility); they’d have to act without hesitation (impulsivity); and they’d have to love the high-stimulation and risk-filled environment of the hunting field. With our structured public schools, office workplaces, and factories those who inherit a surplus of “hunter skills” are often left frustrated in a world that doesn’t understand or support them. As Hartmann shows, by reframing our view of ADHD, we can begin to see it not as a disorder, but as simply a difference and, in some ways, an advantage. He reveals how some of the world’s most successful people can be labeled as ADHD hunters and offers concrete non-drug methods and practices to help hunters--and their parents, teachers, and managers--embrace their differences, nurture creativity, and find success in school, at work, and at home. Providing a supportive “survival” guide to help fine tune your natural skill set, rather than suppress it, Hartmann shows that each mind--whether hunter, farmer, or somewhere in between--has value and great potential waiting to be tapped.

Challenges the preconceptions that hunter-gatherers were Paleolithic relics living in a raw state of nature, instead crafting a position that emphasizes their diversity.

The author wrote this book primarily for his archaeology students, to show them how dangerous anthropological analogy is and how variable the actual practices of foragers of the recent past and today are. His survey of anthropological literature points to differences in foraging societies' patterns of diet, mobility, sharing, land tenure, exchange, gender relations, division of labour, marriage, descent and political organisation. By considering the actual, not imagined, reasons behind diverse behaviour this book argues for a revision of many archaeological models of prehistory. From the reviews "[A]n excellent overview of key issues in hunter-gatherer studies." Alan Barnard in American Ethnologist "Not since Man the Hunter has there been such a synthesis and such a mix of stimulating ideas. This will be the authoritative work on hunter/gatherers for a good number of years." Brian Hayden in Canadian Journal of Archaeology "[A]uthoritative, comprehensive, and highly readable. . . . A well-worn and heavily annotated copy should be the companion of anyone claiming an interest or expertise in present or past hunter-gatherers." Bruce Winterhalder in American Antiquity Prepublication praise "The Foraging Spectrum [is] a well-written, scrupulously researched synthesis of modern approaches to foraging behavior, both past and present." David Hurst Thomas, American Museum of Natural History "A tour de force of scholarship in behavioral ecology." Mathias Guenther, Wilfred Laurier University

In the vast anthropological literature devoted to hunter-gatherer societies, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the place of hunter-gatherer children. Children often represent 40 percent of hunter-gatherer populations, thus nearly half the population is omitted from most hunter-gatherer ethnographies and research. This volume is designed to bridge the gap in our understanding of the daily lives, knowledge, and development of hunter-gatherer children.The twenty-six contributors to Hunter-Gatherer Childhoods use three general but complementary theoretical approaches--evolutionary, developmental, cultural--in their presentations of new and insightful ethnographic data. For instance, the authors employ these theoretical orientations to provide the first systematic studies of hunter-gatherer children's hunting, play, infant care by children, weaning and expressions of grief. The chapters focus on understanding the daily life experiences of children, and their views and feelings about their lives and cultural change. Chapters address some of the following questions: why does childhood exist, who cares for hunter-gatherer children, what are the characteristic features of hunter-gatherer children's development and what are the impacts of culture change on hunter-gatherer child care?The book is divided into five parts. The first section provides historical, theoretical and conceptual framework for the volume; the second section examines data to test competing hypotheses regarding why childhood is particularly long in humans; the third section expands on the second section by looking at who cares for hunter-gatherer children; the fourth section explores several developmental issues such as weaning, play and loss of loved ones; and, the final section examines the impact of sedentism and schools on hunter-gatherer children.This pioneering volume will help to stimulate further research and scholarship on hunter-gatherer childhoods, th

A bold, provocative history of our species finds the roots of civilization’s success and failure in our evolutionary biology. We are living through the most prosperous age in all of human history, yet people are more listless, divided and miserable than ever. Wealth and comfort are unparalleled, and yet our political landscape grows ever more toxic, and rates of suicide, loneliness, and chronic illness continue to skyrocket. How do we explain the gap between these two truths? What's more, what can we do to close it? For evolutionary biologists Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein, the cause of our woes is clear: the modern world is out of sync with our ancient brains and bodies. We evolved to live in clans, but today most people don't even know their neighbors’ names. Traditional gender roles once served a necessary evolutionary purpose, but today we dismiss them as regressive. The cognitive dissonance spawned by trying to live in a society we're not built for is killing us. In this book, Heying and Weinstein cut through the politically fraught discourse surrounding issues like sex, gender, diet, parenting, sleep, education, and more to outline a provocative, science-based worldview that will empower you to live a better, wiser life. They distill more than 20 years of research and first-hand accounts from the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth into straight forward principles and guidance for confronting our culture of hyper-novelty.