“GatheringandHunting:HumansShareResources”fromtheHumanDramabyJeanElliot
JohnsonandDonaldJamesJohnson,2000
HowDidHumansSurvive?
Culture,particularlylanguage,helpedhumanbeingssurvive.Aswomennursedtheir
infants,theexperimentedwithwaystocommunicatewiththeirbabies,andperhaps
languagedevelopedfromtheseearlyefforts.Theearliesttoolswereprobablyusedin
caringforchildrenandgatheringfood.Aslingofbarktoholdababywasperhapsthefirst
humaninvention,andcontainersforfoodwerealsoamongtheearliesttools.Bothmenand
womenprobablyusedsticksorpiecesofstonetodiguproots.Inaddition,womenhadto
poundorscrapemanyplantsbeforehumanscoulddigestthem,andtheymayhave
inventedtoolsforthesepurposesaswell.
Atfirst,themeatpeopleatecamefromanimalsthathaddiedorotheranimalshadkilled.
Menprobablyconcentratedonfindingdeadanimals.Astheylearnedtocommunicateand
cooperateand/orasgamebecamescarcer,menmostlikelytraveledfurthertohuntand
spentalotoftimehunting,eventhoughthemeattheybroughtbackprobablyaccountedfor
verylittleofthediet.
Graduallymenandwomenperformeddifferentroles,especiallywhenmentraveledlong
distancestohunt.Theydevelopedwaystotransportanimalstheyhadscavengedandlater
createdweaponsforcatchingandkillingliveanimals.Womenconcentratedongathering
nearbyroots,plants,nuts,andgrains,caringforchildrenandtheelderly,andmaintaining
thehomebase.
Ourearlyancestorsbegantousefire,anextremelyimportanttechnologicaladvance,about
5,000yearsago.Lightningorspontaneouscombustionprovidedthisveryimportantsource
ofprotectionandwarmthlongbeforeearlyhumanscouldproduceitthemselves,andearly
peoplemayhaveconsideredfireasacredgiftfromthegods.Sincetheycouldnotproduce
fire,theymusthavecarefullypreservedandguardedfirestheyfound.Asmenwonderedoff
toscavengeandlaterhuntformeat,womenmusthaveguardedthehearthandkeptthe
valuablefireburning.(Millennialater,womenwerestillguardingthesacredflamesin
temples.)
Firegavewarmthanditcouldkeeplargeanimalsawayaswellasdrivethemoutofcaves.
Fireallowedwomentocookfood,softeningitfortoothlesseldersandsmallchildren.
Womenfiguredouthowtousefiretopreservefoodsandmakesomeotherwisepoisonous
plantssafeandedible.
Theillandtheoldfoundasafehavenatthehomebase.Whenhumanbandswere
constantlyonthemove,asprainedankleorfevercouldprovefatal.Oncebandsestablished
homebases,theycouldbettercareforoneanother,and,judgingfromthenumberofvery
ancienthealinggoddesses,perhapswomencreatedthefirstmedicinesfromherbsand
plants.Womenprobablyalsodevisedwaystoeasechildbirthanddeterminedwhichplants
wereeffectivelaxativesorheartstimulants.
Excerptfrom“NobleorSavage”inTheEconomist,December19,2007
Takeasnapshotoftheoldworld15,000yearsago.ExceptforbitsofSiberia,itwasfullofa
newandcleverkindofpeoplewhohadoriginatedinAfricaandhadcolonisedfirsttheir
owncontinent,thenAsia,AustraliaandEurope,andwereonthebrinkofpopulatingthe
Americas.Theyhadspearthrowers,boats,needles,adzes,nets.Theypaintedpictures,
decoratedtheirbodiesandbelievedinspirits.Theytradedfoods,shells,rawmaterialsand
ideas.Theysangsongs,toldstoriesandpreparedherbalmedicines.
Theywere“hunter-gatherers”.Onthewholethemenhuntedandthewomengathered:a
sexualdivisionoflabourisstilluniversalamongnon-farmingpeopleandwasprobablynot
sharedbytheirHomoerectuspredecessors.Thisenabledthemtoeatbothmeatand
vegetables,aclevertrickbecauseitcombinesqualitywithreliability.
Thefirstfarmerswerelesshealthythanthehunter-gatherershadbeenintheirheyday.
Asidefromtheirshorterstature,theyhadmoreskeletalwearandtearfromthehardwork,
theirteethrottedmore,theywereshortofproteinandvitaminsandtheycaughtdiseases
fromdomesticatedanimals:measlesfromcattle,flufromducks,plaguefromratsand
wormsfromusingtheirownexcrementasfertiliser.
Theyalsogotabadattackofinequalityforthefirsttime.Hunter-gatherers'dependenceon
sharingeachother'shuntingandgatheringluckmakesthemremarkablyegalitarian.A
successfulfarmer,however,canaffordtobuythelabourofothers,andthatmakeshim
moresuccessfulstill,untileventually—especiallyinanirrigatedrivervalley,wherehe
controlsthewater—hecanbecomeanemperorimposinghisdespoticwhimuponsubjects.
FriedrichEngelswasprobablyrighttoidentifyagriculturewithalossofpolitical
innocence.
Agriculturealsostandsaccusedofexacerbatingsexualinequality.Inmanypeasantfarming
communities,menmakewomendomuchofthehardwork.Amonghunter-gatheringfolk,
menusuallybringfewercaloriesthanwomen,andhaveatiresometendencytoprefer
catchingbigandinfrequentpreysotheycanshowoff,ratherthansmallandfrequent
catchesthatdonotrotbeforetheyareeaten.Butthemendoatleastcontribute.
Recently,though,anthropologistshavesubtlyrevisedtheviewthattheinventionof
agriculturewasafallfromgrace.Theyhavefoundtheserpentinhunter-gathererEden,the
savageinthenoblesavage.Maybeitwasnotan80,000-yearcampingholidayafterall.
In2006twoIndianfishermen,inadrunkensleepaboardtheirlittleboat,driftedoverthe
reefandfetchedupontheshoreofNorthSentinelIsland.Theywerepromptlykilledbythe
inhabitants.Theirbodiesarestillthere:thehelicopterthatwenttocollectthemwasdriven
awaybyahailofarrowsandspears.TheSentinelesedonotwelcometrespassers.Only
veryoccasionallyhavetheybeenlureddowntothebeachoftheirtinyislandhomebygifts
ofcoconutsandonlyonceortwicehavetheytakenthesegiftswithoutsendingashowerof
arrowsinreturn.
Severalarchaeologistsandanthropologistsnowarguethatviolencewasmuchmore
pervasiveinhunter-gatherersocietythaninmorerecenteras.Fromthe
!KungintheKalaharitotheInuitintheArcticandtheaboriginesinAustralia,two-thirdsof
modernhunter-gatherersareinastateofalmostconstanttribalwarfare,andnearly90%
gotowaratleastonceayear.Warisabigwordfordawnraids,skirmishesandlotsof
posturing,butdeathratesarehigh—usuallyaround25-30%ofadultmalesdiefrom
homicide.Thewarfaredeathrateof0.5%ofthepopulationperyearthatLawrenceKeeley
oftheUniversityofIllinoiscalculatesastypicalofhunter-gatherersocietieswouldequate
to2billionpeopledyingduringthe20thcentury.
Atfirst,anthropologistswereinclinedtothinkthisamodernpathology.Butitis
increasinglylookingasifitisthenaturalstate.RichardWranghamofHarvardUniversity
saysthatchimpanzeesandhumanbeingsaretheonlyanimalsinwhichmalesengageincooperativeandsystematichomicidalraids.Thedeathrateissimilarinthetwospecies.
StevenLeBlanc,alsoofHarvard,saysRousseauianwishfulthinkinghasledacademicsto
overlookevidenceofconstantviolence.
Notsomanywomenasmendieinwarfare,itistrue.Butthatisbecausetheyareoftenthe
objectofthefighting.Tobeabductedasasexualprizewasalmostcertainlyacommon
femalefateinhunter-gatherersociety.ForgettheGardenofEden;thinkMadMax.
Constantwarfarewasnecessarytokeeppopulationdensitydowntoonepersonpersquare
mile.Farmerscanliveat100timesthatdensity.Hunter-gatherersmayhavebeensolithe
andhealthybecausetheweakweredead.Theinventionofagricultureandtheadventof
settledsocietymerelyswappedhighmortalityforhighmorbidity,allowingpeoplesome
relieffromchronicwarfaresotheycouldatleastgrindoutanexistence,ratherthanbeing
groundoutofexistencealtogether.
AccordingtoLeBlancallwasnotwellinecologicalterms,either.Homosapienswrought
havoconmanyecosystemsasHomoerectushadnot.Thereisnolongermuchdoubtthat
peoplewerethecauseoftheextinctionofthemegafaunainNorthAmerica11,000years
agoandAustralia30,000yearsbeforethat.Themammothsandgiantkangaroosnever
stoodachanceagainstco-ordinatedambushwithstone-tippedspearsandrelentless
pursuitbyendurancerunners.”
Whatarehunter-gatherersofrecenttimesgenerallylike?
Basedontheethnographicdataandcross-culturalcomparisons,itiswidelyacceptedthat
recenthunter-gatherersocieties
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arefullyorsemi-nomadic.
liveinsmallcommunities.
havelowpopulationdensities.
donothavespecializedpoliticalofficials.
havelittlewealthdifferentiation.
areeconomicallyspecializedonlybyageandgender.
usuallydividelaborbygender,withwomengatheringwildplantsandmenfishing
andalmostalwaysdoingthehunting.
Arehunter-gatherersmorepeacefulthanfoodproducers?
Somecross-culturalfindingscontradicteachother,invitingfurtherinvestigation:
Itiswidelyagreedthat,comparedtofoodproducers,hunter-gatherersfightless(Ember&
Ember,1997).Butarehunter-gathererstypicallypeaceful?Differentresearchershave
arrivedatdifferentanswerstothisquestion.Forexample,Ember(1978)reportedthat
mosthunter-gatherersengagedinwarfareatleasteverytwoyears.Anotherstudyfound
thatwarfarewasrareorabsentamongmosthunter-gatherers(Lenski&Lenski,1978;
reportedinNolan,2003).
Hunter-gathererculturesdifferfromfood-producingculturesinchildrearingpractices
andvocalization.Food-producingculturesaremorevulnerabletofaminesandfood
shortages.
Howwedefinetermswillaffectthesampleanddeterminetheoutcomeofacross-cultural
study.Whenaskingifhunter-gatherersaretypicallypeaceful,forexample,researcherswill
getdifferentresultsdependinguponwhattheymeanbypeaceful,howtheydefinehunter-
gatherers,andwhethertheyhaveexcludedsocietiesforcedtostopfightingbycolonial
powersornationalgovernments.
Mostresearcherscontrastwarandpeace.Iftheresearcherviewspeaceastheabsenceof
war,thentheanswertowhetherhunter-gatherersaremorepeacefulthanfoodproducers
dependsonthedefinitionofwar.Anthropologistsagreethatwarinsmaller-scalesocieties
needstobedefineddifferentlyfromwarinnation-statesthathavearmedforcesandlarge
numbersofcasualties.Also,within-communityorpurelyindividualactsofviolenceare
nearlyalwaysdistinguishedfromwarfare.However,thereiscontroversyaboutwhattocall
differenttypesofsociallyorganizedviolencebetweencommunities.Forexample,Fry
(2006:88,172-174)doesnotconsiderfeudingbetweencommunitieswarfare.
SourceInformation
CarolR.Ember.2014.“Hunter-Gatherers(Foragers)”inC.R.Ember,ExplainingHuman
Culture.HumanRelationsAreaFiles,http://hraf.yale.edu/hunter-gatherers-foragers,
accessedAugust21,2015.
TheWisdomofHunter-Gatherers
byPeterGray,Ph.D
Forhundredsofthousandsofyears,upuntilthetimewhenagriculturewasinvented(a
mere10,000yearsago),wewereallhunter-gatherers.Ourhumaninstincts,includingallof
theinstinctivemeansbywhichwelearn,cameaboutinthecontextofthatwayoflife.And
soitisnaturaltoask:Howdohunter-gathererchildrenlearnwhattheyneedtoknowto
becomeeffectiveadultswithintheirculture?
…Tosupplementwhatwecouldfindintheanthropologicalliterature,severalyearsago
JonathanOgas(thenagraduatestudent)andIcontactedanumberofanthropologistswho
hadlivedamonghunter-gatherersandaskedthemtorespondtoawrittenquestionnaire
abouttheirobservationsofchildren'slives.Ninesuchscholarskindlyrespondedtoour
questionnaire.Amongthem,theyhadstudiedsixdifferenthunter-gatherercultures-three
inAfrica,oneinMalaysia,oneinthePhilippines,andoneinNewGuinea.
WhatIlearnedfrommyreadingandourquestionnairewasstartlingforitsconsistency
fromculture…
1.Hunter-gathererchildrenmustlearnanenormousamounttobecomesuccessful
adults.
Itwouldbeamistaketothinkthateducationisnotabigissueforhunter-gatherersbecause
theydon'thavetolearnmuch.Infact,theyhavetolearnanenormousamount.
Tobecomeeffectivehunters,boysmustlearnthehabitsofthetwoorthreehundred
differentspeciesofmammalsandbirdsthatthebandhunts;mustknowhowtotracksuch
gameusingtheslightestclues;mustbeabletocraftperfectlythetoolsofhunting,suchas
bowsandarrows,blowgunsanddarts,snaresornets;andmustbeextraordinarilyskilled
atusingthosetools.
Tobecomeeffectivegatherers,girlsmustlearnwhichofthecountlessvarietiesofroots,
tubers,nuts,seeds,fruits,andgreensintheirareaareedibleandnutritious,whenand
wheretofindthem,howtodigthem(inthecaseofrootsandtubers),howtoextractthe
edibleportionsefficiently(inthecaseofgrains,nuts,andcertainplantfibers),andinsome
caseshowtoprocessthemtomakethemedibleorincreasetheirnutritionalvalue.These
abilitiesincludephysicalskills,honedbyyearsofpractice,aswellasthecapacityto
remember,use,addto,andmodifyanenormousstoreofculturallysharedverbal
knowledgeaboutthefoodmaterials.
Inaddition,hunter-gathererchildrenmustlearnhowtonavigatetheirhugeforaging
territory,buildhuts,makefires,cook,fendoffpredators,predictweatherchanges,treat
woundsanddiseases,assistbirths,careforinfants,maintainharmonywithintheirgroup,
negotiatewithneighboringgroups,tellstories,makemusic,andengageinvariousdances
andritualsoftheirculture.Sincethereislittlespecializationbeyondthatofmenashunters
andwomenasgatherers,eachpersonmustacquirealargefractionofthetotalknowledge
andskillsoftheculture.
2.Thechildrenlearnallthiswithoutbeingtaught.
Althoughhunter-gathererchildrenmustlearnanenormousamount,hunter-gatherershave
nothinglikeschool.Adultsdonotestablishacurriculum,orattempttomotivatechildrento
learn,orgivelessons,ormonitorchildren'sprogress.Whenaskedhowchildrenlearnwhat
theyneedtoknow,hunter-gathereradultsinvariablyanswerwithwordsthatmean
essentially:"Theyteachthemselvesthroughtheirobservations,play,andexploration."
Occasionallyanadultmightofferawordofadviceordemonstratehowtodosomething
better,suchashowtoshapeanarrowhead,butsuchhelpisgivenonlywhenthechild
clearlydesiresit.Adultstonotinitiate,direct,orinterferewithchildren'sactivities.Adults
donotshowanyevidenceofworryabouttheirchildren'seducation;millenniaof
experiencehaveproventothemthatchildrenareexpertsateducatingthemselves.1
3.Thechildrenareaffordedenormousamountsoftimetoplayandexplore.
Inresponsetoourquestionabouthowmuchtimechildrenhadforplay,the
anthropologistswesurveyedwereunanimousinindicatingthatthehunter-gatherer
childrentheyobservedwerefreetoplaymostifnotalloftheday,everyday.Typical
responsesarethefollowing:
• "[Batek]childrenwerefreetoplaynearlyallthetime;nooneexpectedchildrentodo
seriousworkuntiltheywereintheirlateteens."(KarenEndicott.)
• "Bothgirlsandboys[amongtheNharo]hadalmostalldayeverydayfreetoplay."(Alan
Barnard.)
• "[Efé]boyswerefreetoplaynearlyallthetimeuntilage15-17;forgirlsmostofthe
day,inbetweenafewerrandsandsomebabysitting,wasspentinplay."(Robert
Bailey.)
• "[!Kung]childrenplayedfromdawntodusk."(NancyHowell.)
4.Childrenobserveadults'activitiesandincorporatethoseactivitiesintotheirplay.
Hunter-gathererchildrenareneverisolatedfromadultactivities.Theyobservedirectlyall
thatoccursincamp-thepreparationstomove,thebuildingofhuts,themakingand
mendingoftoolsandotherartifacts,thefoodpreparationandcooking,thenursingand
careofinfants,theprecautionstakenagainstpredatorsanddiseases,thegossipand
discussions,theargumentsandpolitics,thedancesandfestivities.Theysometimes
accompanyadultsonfoodgatheringtrips,andbyage10orso,boyssometimesaccompany
menonhuntingtrips.
Thechildrennotonlyobservealloftheseactivities,buttheyalsoincorporatetheminto
theirplay,andthroughthatplaytheybecomeskilledattheactivities.Astheygrowolder,
theirplayturnsgraduallyintotherealthing.Thereisnosharpdivisionbetweenplayful
participationandrealparticipationinthevaluedactivitiesofthegroup.
1See,forexample,Y.Gossoetal.(2005),"Playinhunter-gatherersocieties."InA.D.
Pellegrini&P.K.Smith(Eds.),TheNatureofPlay:GreatApesandHumans.NewYork:
Guilford.
PeterGray,Ph.D.,aresearchprofessorofpsychologyatBostonCollege,isaspecialistin
developmentalandevolutionarypsychology.Heistheauthorofanintroductory
textbook,Psychology,andFreetoLearn,abookaboutchildren'snaturalwaysofeducating
themselves,andhowadultscanhelp(BasicBooks,2013).Formoreinformationand
articles,visithisblogFreedomtoLearn.