Anthropology 3900
Hunters & Gatherers
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
2:00 PM to 2:50 PM
Classroom: 3103 Blair Hall
Office: 3153 Blair Hall
Office Hours:
8:00-9:00 AM; T (Starbucks)
1:00-2:00 PM; M, W, F (3153 Blair Hall)
3:00-4:00 PM; M, W (3153 Blair Hall)
Instructor: Professor Don Holly
Email: [email protected]
Office Phone: 581-6593
Course Description
Before the advent of agriculture—for about 99 percent of human existence—people subsisted entirely on a
diet of wild plants and animals. Even today, wild foods continue to play an important role in the diet and
culture of many people. This course examines these people (hunters and gatherers), their cultures, societies,
histories, and the interpretive frameworks and theories that anthropologists have been used to study them.
Introduction
Hunters and gatherers have long captured the imagination of social scientists and lay citizens. To many,
hunter-gatherers seemed extraordinarily “primitive.” Thus it was believed that the study of hunters and
gatherers could provide insight—a glimpse perhaps—into our distant past, or otherwise offer commentary
on the “original” human condition. Others have been captivated more by the challenges of the foraging
lifestyle, and have focused on how these people have adapted, survived, and even thrived in their
surroundings. All have used hunters and gatherers to ponder what it means to be human.
This course explores hunting and gathering societies of both the past and present through films,
ethnographies, historical documents and the archaeological record. But we will also examine the history of
scholarship on hunter-gatherers. I think this is important, since our interpretations of hunter-gatherers are
often informed by broader social and intellectual movements—anthropological theory, for example.
Accordingly, it would be difficult (impossible?) to study hunter-gatherers without understanding the
contexts that shape our “understandings” of them. So in this course we’ll do two things: 1) study hunters
and gatherers and 2) study our study of them.
One of your chief responsibilities in this course will be to situate the assigned readings in history, in terms
of anthropological theory, and with sensitivity to authors’ individual perspectives. For this reason, I will
assume that all students 1) will have had some prior exposure to anthropology before taking this course and
2) are motivated to do the necessary work and think critically about anthropology/anthropological theory.
This is a challenging course.
Aims

To introduce you to the “foraging life” through the study of hunting and gathering societies around the
world (past and present).

To encourage you to think critically about the ways that anthropologists have conceptualized hunting
and gathering societies and to situate their ideas within the intellectual history of the discipline.

To give you the opportunity to reflect on and critique specific works on hunters and gatherers.
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Assessment
assignments
Exams (2)
Quizzes (2)
Response paper (3 pgs)
Book review information
Book review discussion
Book review (3 pgs)
percentage of grade
20 X 2 = 40
5 X 2 = 10
20
5
5
20
date
10/10 & 12/14
9/16 & 11/4
9/16 or 10/12 or 11/4
10/24 or earlier
12/1 or 12/2
12/9
assignment guidelines
● Exams
Exams are based on class lectures, discussions, readings, films, guest speakers—anything covered
in the course of the semester. Tip: study.
● Quizzes
The two quizzes are based on content from the books. Tip: read.
● Response Paper (3 pages)
During the course of the semester I will ask you to write a written response to a question based on
the books. You will have three opportunities to do this, but you only need to write one response
paper. NOTE: I will not accept late response papers. Tip: do this assignment early in the semester.
● Book Review (4 pages)
For this paper, I want you to write an in-depth and critical review of an ethnography or
archaeology book of your choice that focuses on hunters and gatherers (see syllabus for some
ideas). This is not a simple book report: you will need to situate the work you have read within
some broader intellectual context. For example, you may want to address the theoretical
perspective the author was taking in the work, frame the research in terms of the author’s own
personal interests and/or experiences, or attempt to understand the work in terms of the time
period in which it was written. Tip: support your argument. I can help.
● Book Review Information
Several weeks prior to the due date of the book review, you will need to fill out the book review
“information form” on the last page of the syllabus and hand it to me. Be sure that the book you
choose is the book you’ll read for your review. If you change your book after this date you will
forfeit whatever points you received on this assignment. NOTE: no two students can do the same
book. Tip: start considering books early in the semester. I can help.
● Book Review Discussion
Just prior to handing in your paper, I will ask you to make an appointment to meet with me to
briefly discuss the book you read and your approach for the review. Although your paper is not
due until the end of the semester, I will assume that when you meet with me you will have already
read the book and thought out your approach. As such, you should convey command of the
material and clearly express your ideas to me. There will be no class on December 2nd—this time
will be set aside for appointments. I will also make time to meet with students on December 1st.
Required Readings
Balikci, A (1970) The Netsilik Eskimo. Waveland Press.
Turnbull, C. (1987) The Forest People. Touchstone Books.
Wilmsen, E (1999) Journey with Flies. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
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Class Schedule
Date
Topic
Assignments
22 August
24 August
26 August
29 August
31 August
2 September
5 September
7 September
9 September
12 September
14 September
16 September
19 September
21 September
23 September
26 September
28 September
30 September
3 October
5 October
7 October
10 October
12 October
14 October
17 October
19 October
21 October
24 October
26 October
28 October
31 October
2 November
4 November
7 November
9 November
11 November
14 November
16-18 November
21-25 November
28 November
30 November
1-2 December
5 December
7 December
9 December
14 December
imagining hunters and gatherers
19th century cultural evolutionism
land of fire
rethinking “savagery”
dreaming
film: the desert people
no class (labor day)
hunter-gatherers in space
a tale of two great basin societies
cultural ecology
film: the netsilik
book quiz 1; netsilik discussion
infanticide and gentricide
shamanism and animism
!kung san
film: the hunters
the harvard kalahari project
new archaeology’s hunters and gatherers
optimal foraging theory
the original affluent society
tasaday
exam I
the forest people discussion
no class (fall break)
film: the baka
on pristine forests and foragers
no class (prof personal day)
professional primitives and strategic foraging
guest lecture (ethnoarchaeology of the ata)
hunters to pastoralists (the sámi)
the great kalahari debate i
the great kalahari debate ii
book quiz 2; journeys with Wilmsen discussion
complex h/gs in “prehistory”
complex h/gs in “history”
intensification
pathways to power
no class (AAA meetings)
no class (thanksgiving)
women and children
women and children last
no class (individual meetings with me)
contemporary issues
film: the Ache Indians of Paraguay
reimagining hunters and gatherers; evaluations
exam II (2:45 PM)
start balikci/question
balikci paper due
start turnbull/question
finish turnbull
turnbull paper due
start wilmsen/question
book review form due
wilmsen paper due
start final book
finish final book
book review discussion
book review due
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Policies
Assignments
Exams and quizzes must be taken on the date specified in the syllabus. Failure to take the exam or quiz on
the assigned date without adequate forewarning and documented excuse will result in a 10% penalty on the
makeup. Don’t miss the final.
All writing assignments must be typed and double-spaced, employ a standard 10-12 size font, and run the
required amount of pages (see specific assignment) not including the bibliography. If you cite anything, it
must be referenced in a bibliography following the body of the document. I prefer that you use the
American Anthropological Association’s citation style (see http://www.aaanet.org/pubs/style_guide.htm).
All papers are due on the date specified. I don’t accept late response papers. Late book review papers will
be assessed a 5% penalty for each day late for up to three days following the deadline, after which a failing
grade will be assigned. Papers should be handed directly to me or to the department secretary on the date
due and before the deadline. Emailed papers will not be accepted. And always save a copy!
I do not tolerate plagiarism; if you are unsure how to properly cite or reference a piece of work please
come and see me.
I do not give extra credit.
Classroom Environment
A significant portion of the exams is based on material presented and discussed in class. As such, I could
not imagine how a student could do well in the course without regularly attending class. More importantly,
your presence and active participation simply makes for a better course. Your classmates and I are counting
on you. I also encourage you to come see me during office hours. This time has been set aside for you. You
are also welcome to drop by my office outside of office hours. Feel free to come with questions and
concerns or simply to chat. I can also be reached on my office phone (typically on class days) or through
email (although I’d prefer to talk with you in person). Don’t be a stranger!
Disabilities Statement
Students with documented disabilities are encouraged to contact the Office of Disability Services (5816583) if they wish to discuss any necessary academic accommodations.
Medical Emergency Statement
For medical emergencies, go to the nearest phone and call 911. All faculty offices have telephones and
during normal business hours (8-12 & 1-4:30), the Sociology Office (Blair 3170) is open. Be sure to state
the floor and room number of the emergency to the 911 operator. If possible, someone should go to the
central entrance of Blair Hall to direct EMS personnel to the medical emergency scene. If the medical
emergency is on the second or third floor, someone else should hold the elevator on the first floor for EMS
use.
Tornado Statement
In case of a tornado warning, proceed to the center of the hallway on the first floor, near the posted severe
weather signs. Under no circumstances should you attempt to leave the building.
Building Fire Statement
In case of fire, activate the fire alarm and exit the building. When a fire alarm sounds, everyone must exit
the building and cannot re-enter the building until allowed by the building coordinator or fire department
official. Fire alarms are located at the north and south ends of the corridors just inside the fire doors. The
closes exits for all classrooms in Blair are on the north and south ends of the building. Under no
circumstance should the elevator be used. Group assembly areas for all classes in Blair are either on the
patio area between Blair and Old Main or on the southeast corner of the North Quad. As you exit the
building, continue moving well away from the exits so that you do not impede the egress of other students
of the work of fire officials. Move a safe distance away from the building.
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SOME BOOKS ON HUNTER-GATHERERS
Gender
Bell, D
1993 Daughters of the Dreaming
Endicott, K.M. & K.L. Endicott
2008 The Headman was a Woman.
Mancini, Billson and K. Mancini
2007 Inuit Women.
Shostak, M
1983 Nisa: the life and words of a !Kung woman.
Religion, Ritual, Mythology
Biesele, M
1993 Women Like Meat: The Folklore and Foraging Ideology of the Kalahari Ju/'Hoan.
Chapman, A.
1982 Drama and Power in a Hunting Society: the Selk’nam of Tierra del Fuego.
Endicott, K
1979 Batek Negrito Religion. Clarendon
Guenther, Mathias
1999 Tricksters and Trancers: Bushman Religion and Society
Helm, June
1994 Prophecy and Power Among the Dogrib Indians
Nelson, Richard
1986 Make Prayers to the raven
Pandya, V
1993 Above the Forest : A Study of Andamanese Ethnoanemology, Cosmology, and the Power of Ritual.
Sharp, Henry
1988 The Transformation of Big Foot
2001 Loon
Tanner, A
1979 Bringing Home Animals
Willerslev, Rane
2007 Soul Hunters: Hunting, animism and personhood among the Siberian Yukaghirs
Psychology
Briggs, J
1970 Never in Anger
Goulet, J-G
1998 Ways of Knowing: Experience, Knowledge and Power among the Dene Tha
Róheim, G
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1974 Children of the desert: the Western Tribes of Central Australia.
Photography & Journalism
Gordon, Robert J.
1997 Picturing Bushmen, The Denver African Expedition of 1925
Children
Briggs, J.
1999 Inuit Morality Play: The Emotional Education of a Three-Year-Old
Hewlett, Barry
1993 Intimate Fathers: The Nature and Context of Aka Pygmy Parental Infant Care.
Travel Writing
Burckhalter, D.
1999 Among Turtle Hunters & Basket Makers: Adventures with the Seri Indians
Ingstad, H
1933 The Land of Feast and Famine
2006 Nunamuit: Among Alaska’s Inland Eskimos
Isaacson, R.
2004 The Healing Land
Kane, J
1997 Savages.
Malauri, J
2007 Hummocks: Journeys and Inquiries among the Canadian Inuit
Mowat, F
1952 People of the Deer.
Mukerjee, M
2003 The Land of the Naked People
Musters, George C.
2005 At Home with the Patagonians
Stephenson, J
2001 The Language of the Land: Living Among a Stone-Age People in Africa
Thomas, Elizabeth Marshall
1989 The Harmless People
Van der Post, Laurens
1958 The Lost World of the Kalahari
Yetman, D
1993 Where the Desert Meets the Sea
Traditional Cultural Anthropology/Topics
Boas, F
1888 The Central Eskimo
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Clastres, P
2000 Chronicle of the Guayaki Indians
Fortier, J.
2009 Kings of the Forest: The cultural Resilience of Himalayan Hunter-Gatherers
Gould, R
1969 Yiwara: Foragers of the Australian Western Desert.
Henriksen, G.
1973 Hunters in the Barrens
Jarvenpa, R
1998 Northern Passage
Jenness, D
1928 The People of the Twilight
1995 Arctic Odyssey: the Diary of Diamond Jenness
Jochelson, W
2002 History, Ethnology and Anthropology of the Aleut
LeClercq, Chrestien [W. Ganong trans. and ed]
1910 New Relation of Gaspesia with the Customs and Religion of the Gaspesian Indians.
Lowie, R
2004 The Crow Indians
Mann, E. H.
1885 On the aboriginal inhabitants of the Andaman Islands
Meggitt, M
1962 Desert People.
Nelson, Richard
1969 Hunters of the Northern Ice.
Osgood, Cornelius
2006 Winter. University of Nebraska Press
Politis, Gustavo
2007 Nukak: Ethnoarchaeology of an Endangered Amazonian People.
Ridington, R
1992 Trail to Heaven: Knowledge and Narrative in a Northern Native community
Rival, L
2002 Trekking through history: the Huaorani of Amazonian Ecuador.
Schebesta, P
1928 Among the Forest Dwarfs of Malaya.
Seligmann, C.G. and B. Z. Seligmann
1911 The Veddas
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Speck, F
1935 Naskapi
Thomas, Elizabeth Marshall
2007 The Old Way.
Tonkinson, R
1978 The Mardudjara Aborigines.
Widlok, Thomas
2000 Living on the Mangetti
Yu, Pei-Lin
1997 Hungry Lightning
Archaeology & Ethnohistory
Claassen, Cheryl
2010 Feasting With Shell in the Southern Ohio Valley
Gamble, Lynn
2008 The Chumash at European Contact
Habu, Junko
2004 Ancient Jomon of Japan
Hoffman, Carl L.
1986 The Punan: Hunters and gatherers of Borneo
Jefferies, R.
2009 Holocene Hunter-gatherers of the Lower Ohio River Valley
Lewis-Williams, D
2004 The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art
McGhee, R
2001 Ancient People of the Arctic
Sassaman, Kenneth
2006 People of the Shoals
Sassaman, Kenneth
2010 The Eastern Archaic, Historicized
Warren, G
2006 Mesolithic Lives in Scotland.
Widmer, R.
1988 The Evolution of Calusa: A Nonagricultural Chiefdom of the Southwest Florida Coast
Culture Change/Modernity
Blackman, M
2004 Upside Down: Seasons Among the Nunamiut
Brody, H
1997 Maps and Dreams.
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Christen, K
2009 Aboriginal Business: Alliances in a Remote Australian Town
Dallos, C.
2011 From Equality to Inequality: Social Change among Newly Sedentary Lanoh Hunter-Gatherer Traders
Dorais, L-J
1997 Quaqtaq: Modernity and Identity in an Inuit Community.
Fienup-Riordan, A
2000 Hunting Tradition in a Changing World: Yup’ik Lives in Alaska Today
Jorgensen, J
1990 Oil Age Eskimos
Reedy-Maschner, K
2010 Aleut Identities: Tradition and Modernity in an Indigenous Fishery
Environmental Science/Biology
Cormier, Loretta
2003 Kinship with Monkeys.
Kennett, Douglas
2005 The Island Chumash: Behavioral Ecology of a Maritime Society.
Marlowe, Frank
2010 The Hadza: Hunter-Gatherers of Tanzania
Nelson, R.
1973 Hunters of the Northern Ice
Peterson, J. T
1978 The Ecology of Social Boundaries: Agta foragers of the Philippines
Ricklis, Robert
1996 Karankawa Indians of Texas: An Ecological Study of Cultural Tradition and Change
Silberbauer,
1981 Hunter and Habitat in the Central Kalahari Desert
Smith, E. A.
1991 Inujjuamiut foraging strategies
Steward, Julian
1938 Basin-Plateau Aboriginal sociopolitical Groups
Geography
Cruikshank, Julie
2005 Do Glaciers Listen?
Friedman, J. and C. Chase-Dunn
1998 The Wintu and Their Neighbors: A Small World-System in Northern California
Jordan, Peter
2003 Material Culture and Sacred Landscape: the Anthropology of the Siberian Khanty.
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Rose, D
2000 Dingo makes us human: Life and Land in an Australian Aboriginal Culture
Thornton, T
2007 Being and Place among the Tlingit
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Book Review Information Form
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Your Name:
Title of Book:
Author:
Date of Publication (first publication):
Name of Group or Archaeological Culture & Geographical Location:
(be sure they are hunters and gatherers!)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Instructor’s Comments
[leave blank]
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