Hunter-Gatherers: An Interdisciplinary Perspective

About this book

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 specialised, and the lines of communication between academic disciplines have all but broken down. This volume aims to re-establish an interdisciplinary debate, presenting critical issues commanding an ongoing interest in hunter-gatherer research, covering evolution and history, demography and biology, technology, social organisation, 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.

Contents

1. Lines of enquiry Catherine Panter-Brick, Robert H. Layton and Peter Rowley-Conwy; 2. The behavioural ecology of hunter-gatherers Bruce Winterhalder; 3. How original is the 'original affluent society'? Time, change and the archaeology of hunter-gatherers Peter Rowley-Conwy; 4. Hunter-gatherer technology: macro and micro-scale approaches Robin Torrence; 5. The antiquity of hunter-gatherers Steven L. Kuhn and Mary C. Stiner; 6. Language shift and language spread among hunter-gatherers Patrick McConvell; 7. Hunter-gatherer demography Renee Pennington; 8. Nutritional ecology: diet, growth, physical activity and body size Mark Jenike; 9. Evolutionary biology of hunter-gatherer populations Alain Froment; 10. Hunting for images, gathering up meanings: art for life in hunting-gathering societies Margaret W. Conkey; 11. Hunter-gatherers, their neighbours and the nation state Robert H. Layton; Glossary.

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