Hunter-Gatherers of the Congo Basin

Hunter-Gatherers of the Congo Basin

Author: Barry S. Hewlett

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-12

Total Pages: 557

ISBN-13: 1351514113

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The forest foragers of the Congo Basin, known collectively as "Pygmies," are the largest and most diverse group of active hunter-gatherers remaining in the world. At least fifteen different ethno-linguistic groups exist in the Congo Basin with a total population of 250,000 to 350,000 individuals. Extensive knowledge about these groups has accumulated in the last forty years, but readers have been forced to piece together what is known from many sources. French, Japanese, American, and British researchers have conducted the majority of the research; each national research group has its own academic traditions, history, and publications. Here, leading academic authorities from diverse national traditions summarize recent research on forest hunter-gatherers. The volume explores the diversity and uniformity of Congo Basin hunter-gatherer life by providing detailed but accessible overviews of recent research. It represents the first book in over twenty-five years to provide a comprehensive and holistic overview of African forest hunter-gatherers. Chapters discuss the cultural variation in characteristic features of Congo Basin hunter-gatherer life, such as their yodeled polyphonic music, pronounced egalitarianism, multiple-child caregiving, and complex relations with neighboring farming groups. Other contributors address theoretical issues, such as why Pygmies are short, how tropical forest hunter-gatherers live without the carbohydrates they receive from neighboring farmers, and how hunter-gatherer children learn to share so extensively.


Book Synopsis Hunter-Gatherers of the Congo Basin by : Barry S. Hewlett

Download or read book Hunter-Gatherers of the Congo Basin written by Barry S. Hewlett and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-12 with total page 557 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The forest foragers of the Congo Basin, known collectively as "Pygmies," are the largest and most diverse group of active hunter-gatherers remaining in the world. At least fifteen different ethno-linguistic groups exist in the Congo Basin with a total population of 250,000 to 350,000 individuals. Extensive knowledge about these groups has accumulated in the last forty years, but readers have been forced to piece together what is known from many sources. French, Japanese, American, and British researchers have conducted the majority of the research; each national research group has its own academic traditions, history, and publications. Here, leading academic authorities from diverse national traditions summarize recent research on forest hunter-gatherers. The volume explores the diversity and uniformity of Congo Basin hunter-gatherer life by providing detailed but accessible overviews of recent research. It represents the first book in over twenty-five years to provide a comprehensive and holistic overview of African forest hunter-gatherers. Chapters discuss the cultural variation in characteristic features of Congo Basin hunter-gatherer life, such as their yodeled polyphonic music, pronounced egalitarianism, multiple-child caregiving, and complex relations with neighboring farming groups. Other contributors address theoretical issues, such as why Pygmies are short, how tropical forest hunter-gatherers live without the carbohydrates they receive from neighboring farmers, and how hunter-gatherer children learn to share so extensively.


The Forest People: Africa's Pygmy Tribes Along the Congo River - Their Hunter-Gatherer Culture, Village Customs and Bond with Nature

The Forest People: Africa's Pygmy Tribes Along the Congo River - Their Hunter-Gatherer Culture, Village Customs and Bond with Nature

Author: Colin M. Turnbull

Publisher: Pantianos Classics

Published: 2020-02-27

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 9781789872064

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In the 1950s, anthropologist Colin Turnbull lived among the pygmies of the Congo river for three years - this is his account of life among the tribespeople. Adventurous as a young man, at the time he moved to the Congo Turnbull already had several years' experience of Africa and its rural cultures. Seeking to shed insight on the pygmy peoples for a wider audience, he sought a home in one of the villages and introduced himself to the locals. Quickly becoming popular in the locality for his courtesy and respectful manners, Turnbull kept a diary and took photographs of the locals, noting their customs and dynamics as a tribal community. The interplay between males and females of the tribe are detailed, with rivalries and conflicts between the younger pygmies. Marriage and the duties therein define the tribe, with complex customs existing between existing and prospective couples. As the tribes live as hunter gatherers, it is necessary for a number of men to be skilled in gathering meat, fruits and vegetables, together with honeycomb - a substance prized by the pygmies for its deliciousness. Turnbull does not bog down his narrative in academic jargon or complex nuance; rather we find an informal, at times even casual, account of life in a forest tribe. We receive a sense of the personalities and priorities accorded; this readability undoubtedly helps us better comprehend the pygmies' lives.


Book Synopsis The Forest People: Africa's Pygmy Tribes Along the Congo River - Their Hunter-Gatherer Culture, Village Customs and Bond with Nature by : Colin M. Turnbull

Download or read book The Forest People: Africa's Pygmy Tribes Along the Congo River - Their Hunter-Gatherer Culture, Village Customs and Bond with Nature written by Colin M. Turnbull and published by Pantianos Classics. This book was released on 2020-02-27 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1950s, anthropologist Colin Turnbull lived among the pygmies of the Congo river for three years - this is his account of life among the tribespeople. Adventurous as a young man, at the time he moved to the Congo Turnbull already had several years' experience of Africa and its rural cultures. Seeking to shed insight on the pygmy peoples for a wider audience, he sought a home in one of the villages and introduced himself to the locals. Quickly becoming popular in the locality for his courtesy and respectful manners, Turnbull kept a diary and took photographs of the locals, noting their customs and dynamics as a tribal community. The interplay between males and females of the tribe are detailed, with rivalries and conflicts between the younger pygmies. Marriage and the duties therein define the tribe, with complex customs existing between existing and prospective couples. As the tribes live as hunter gatherers, it is necessary for a number of men to be skilled in gathering meat, fruits and vegetables, together with honeycomb - a substance prized by the pygmies for its deliciousness. Turnbull does not bog down his narrative in academic jargon or complex nuance; rather we find an informal, at times even casual, account of life in a forest tribe. We receive a sense of the personalities and priorities accorded; this readability undoubtedly helps us better comprehend the pygmies' lives.


Hunters and Gatherers in Central Africa

Hunters and Gatherers in Central Africa

Author: John Beauclerk

Publisher: Oxfam Pub

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 62

ISBN-13:

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Examines the traditional economy of indigenous forest communities in the Zaire Basin, and the pressure put on it by commercial interests, competing cultivators, and national governments.


Book Synopsis Hunters and Gatherers in Central Africa by : John Beauclerk

Download or read book Hunters and Gatherers in Central Africa written by John Beauclerk and published by Oxfam Pub. This book was released on 1993 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the traditional economy of indigenous forest communities in the Zaire Basin, and the pressure put on it by commercial interests, competing cultivators, and national governments.


Hunter-gatherers in a Changing World

Hunter-gatherers in a Changing World

Author: Victoria Reyes-García

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-11-15

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 3319422715

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This book compiles a collection of case studies analysing drivers of and responses to change amongst contemporary hunter-gatherers. Contemporary hunter-gatherers’ livelihoods are examined from perspectives ranging from historical legacy to environmental change, and from changes in national economic, political and legal systems to more broad-scale and universal notions of globalization and acculturation. Far from the commonly held romantic view that hunter-gatherers continue to exist as isolated populations living a traditional lifestyle in harmony with the environment, contemporary hunter-gatherers – like many rural communities around the world - face a number of relatively new ecological and social challenges to which they are pressed to adapt. Contemporary hunter-gatherer societies are increasingly and rapidly being affected by Global Changes, related both to biophysical Earth systems (i.e., changes in climate, biodiversity and natural resources, and water availability), and to social systems (i.e. demographic transitions, sedentarisation, integration into the market economy, and all the socio-cultural change that these and other factors trigger). Chapter 10 of this book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license.


Book Synopsis Hunter-gatherers in a Changing World by : Victoria Reyes-García

Download or read book Hunter-gatherers in a Changing World written by Victoria Reyes-García and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-11-15 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book compiles a collection of case studies analysing drivers of and responses to change amongst contemporary hunter-gatherers. Contemporary hunter-gatherers’ livelihoods are examined from perspectives ranging from historical legacy to environmental change, and from changes in national economic, political and legal systems to more broad-scale and universal notions of globalization and acculturation. Far from the commonly held romantic view that hunter-gatherers continue to exist as isolated populations living a traditional lifestyle in harmony with the environment, contemporary hunter-gatherers – like many rural communities around the world - face a number of relatively new ecological and social challenges to which they are pressed to adapt. Contemporary hunter-gatherer societies are increasingly and rapidly being affected by Global Changes, related both to biophysical Earth systems (i.e., changes in climate, biodiversity and natural resources, and water availability), and to social systems (i.e. demographic transitions, sedentarisation, integration into the market economy, and all the socio-cultural change that these and other factors trigger). Chapter 10 of this book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license.


The Lifeways of Hunter-Gatherers

The Lifeways of Hunter-Gatherers

Author: Robert L. Kelly

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2013-04-15

Total Pages: 383

ISBN-13: 1107024870

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


Book Synopsis The Lifeways of Hunter-Gatherers by : Robert L. Kelly

Download or read book The Lifeways of Hunter-Gatherers written by Robert L. Kelly and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-04-15 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenges the preconceptions that hunter-gatherers were Paleolithic relics living in a raw state of nature, instead crafting a position that emphasizes their diversity.


Hunter-Gatherers in History, Archaeology and Anthropology

Hunter-Gatherers in History, Archaeology and Anthropology

Author: Alan Barnard

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-05-26

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 1000190269

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The study of hunter-gatherers has had a profound impact on thinking about human nature and about the nature of society. The subject has especially influenced ideas on social evolution and on the development of human culture. Anthropologists and archaeologists continue to investigate living hunter-gatherers and the remains of past hunter-gatherer societies in the hope of unearthing the secrets of our ancestors and learning something of the natural existence of humankind. Hunter-Gatherers in History, Archaeology and Anthropology provides a definitive overview of hunter-gatherer historiography, from the earliest anthropological writings through to the present day. What can early visions of the hunter-gatherer tell us about the societies that generated them? How do diverse national traditions, such as American, Russian and Japanese, manifest themselves in hunter-gatherer research? What is the most up-to-date thinking on the subject and how does it reflect current trends within the social sciences? This book provides a much-needed overview of the history of thought on one of science's most intriguing subjects. It will serve as a landmark text for anthropologists, archaeologists and students researching anthropological theory or the history of social anthropology and related disciplines.


Book Synopsis Hunter-Gatherers in History, Archaeology and Anthropology by : Alan Barnard

Download or read book Hunter-Gatherers in History, Archaeology and Anthropology written by Alan Barnard and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-05-26 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of hunter-gatherers has had a profound impact on thinking about human nature and about the nature of society. The subject has especially influenced ideas on social evolution and on the development of human culture. Anthropologists and archaeologists continue to investigate living hunter-gatherers and the remains of past hunter-gatherer societies in the hope of unearthing the secrets of our ancestors and learning something of the natural existence of humankind. Hunter-Gatherers in History, Archaeology and Anthropology provides a definitive overview of hunter-gatherer historiography, from the earliest anthropological writings through to the present day. What can early visions of the hunter-gatherer tell us about the societies that generated them? How do diverse national traditions, such as American, Russian and Japanese, manifest themselves in hunter-gatherer research? What is the most up-to-date thinking on the subject and how does it reflect current trends within the social sciences? This book provides a much-needed overview of the history of thought on one of science's most intriguing subjects. It will serve as a landmark text for anthropologists, archaeologists and students researching anthropological theory or the history of social anthropology and related disciplines.


Social Learning and Innovation in Contemporary Hunter-Gatherers

Social Learning and Innovation in Contemporary Hunter-Gatherers

Author: Hideaki Terashima

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-10-22

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 4431559973

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This is the first book to examine social learning and innovation in hunter–gatherers from around the world. More is known about social learning in chimpanzees and nonhuman primates than is known about social learning in hunter–gatherers, a way of life that characterized most of human history. The book describes diverse patterns of learning and teaching behaviors in contemporary hunter–gatherers from the perspectives of cultural anthropology, ecological anthropology, biological anthropology, and developmental psychology. The book addresses several theoretical issues including the learning hypothesis which suggests that the fate of Homo sapiens and Neanderthals in the last glacial period might have been due to the differences in learning ability. It has been unequivocally claimed that social learning is intrinsically important for human beings; however, the characteristics of human learning remain under a dense fog despite innumerable studies with children from urban–industrial cultures. Controversy continues on problems such as: do hunter–gatherers teach? If so, what types of teaching occur, who does it, how often, under what contexts, and so on. The book explores the most basic and intrinsic aspects of social learning as well as the foundation of innovative activities in everyday activities of contemporary hunter–gatherer people across the earth. The book examines how hunter-gatherer core values, such as gender and age egalitarianism and extensive sharing of food and childcare are transmitted and acquired by children. Chapters are grouped into five sections: 1) theoretical perspectives of learning in hunter–gatherers, 2) modes and processes of social learning in hunter–gatherers, 3) innovation and cumulative culture, 4) play and other cultural contexts of social learning and innovation, 5) biological contexts of learning and innovation. Ideas and concepts based on the data gathered through an intensive fieldwork by the authors will give much insight into the mechanisms and meanings of learning and education in modern humans.


Book Synopsis Social Learning and Innovation in Contemporary Hunter-Gatherers by : Hideaki Terashima

Download or read book Social Learning and Innovation in Contemporary Hunter-Gatherers written by Hideaki Terashima and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-10-22 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book to examine social learning and innovation in hunter–gatherers from around the world. More is known about social learning in chimpanzees and nonhuman primates than is known about social learning in hunter–gatherers, a way of life that characterized most of human history. The book describes diverse patterns of learning and teaching behaviors in contemporary hunter–gatherers from the perspectives of cultural anthropology, ecological anthropology, biological anthropology, and developmental psychology. The book addresses several theoretical issues including the learning hypothesis which suggests that the fate of Homo sapiens and Neanderthals in the last glacial period might have been due to the differences in learning ability. It has been unequivocally claimed that social learning is intrinsically important for human beings; however, the characteristics of human learning remain under a dense fog despite innumerable studies with children from urban–industrial cultures. Controversy continues on problems such as: do hunter–gatherers teach? If so, what types of teaching occur, who does it, how often, under what contexts, and so on. The book explores the most basic and intrinsic aspects of social learning as well as the foundation of innovative activities in everyday activities of contemporary hunter–gatherer people across the earth. The book examines how hunter-gatherer core values, such as gender and age egalitarianism and extensive sharing of food and childcare are transmitted and acquired by children. Chapters are grouped into five sections: 1) theoretical perspectives of learning in hunter–gatherers, 2) modes and processes of social learning in hunter–gatherers, 3) innovation and cumulative culture, 4) play and other cultural contexts of social learning and innovation, 5) biological contexts of learning and innovation. Ideas and concepts based on the data gathered through an intensive fieldwork by the authors will give much insight into the mechanisms and meanings of learning and education in modern humans.


Demography and Evolutionary Ecology of Hadza Hunter-Gatherers

Demography and Evolutionary Ecology of Hadza Hunter-Gatherers

Author: Nicholas Blurton Jones

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2016-01-21

Total Pages: 511

ISBN-13: 1316425215

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The Hadza, an ethnic group indigenous to northern Tanzania, are one of the few remaining hunter-gatherer populations. Archaeology shows 130,000 years of hunting and gathering in their land but Hadza are rapidly losing areas vital to their way of life. This book offers a unique opportunity to capture a disappearing lifestyle. Blurton Jones interweaves data from ecology, demography and evolutionary ecology to present a comprehensive analysis of the Hadza foragers. Discussion centres on expansion of the adaptationist perspective beyond topics customarily studied in human behavioural ecology, to interpret a wider range of anthropological concepts. Analysing behavioural aspects, with a specific focus on relationships and their wider impact on the population, this book reports the demographic consequences of different patterns of marriage and the availability of helpers such as husbands, children, and grandmothers. Essential for researchers and graduate students alike, this book will challenge preconceptions of human sociobiology.


Book Synopsis Demography and Evolutionary Ecology of Hadza Hunter-Gatherers by : Nicholas Blurton Jones

Download or read book Demography and Evolutionary Ecology of Hadza Hunter-Gatherers written by Nicholas Blurton Jones and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-01-21 with total page 511 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Hadza, an ethnic group indigenous to northern Tanzania, are one of the few remaining hunter-gatherer populations. Archaeology shows 130,000 years of hunting and gathering in their land but Hadza are rapidly losing areas vital to their way of life. This book offers a unique opportunity to capture a disappearing lifestyle. Blurton Jones interweaves data from ecology, demography and evolutionary ecology to present a comprehensive analysis of the Hadza foragers. Discussion centres on expansion of the adaptationist perspective beyond topics customarily studied in human behavioural ecology, to interpret a wider range of anthropological concepts. Analysing behavioural aspects, with a specific focus on relationships and their wider impact on the population, this book reports the demographic consequences of different patterns of marriage and the availability of helpers such as husbands, children, and grandmothers. Essential for researchers and graduate students alike, this book will challenge preconceptions of human sociobiology.


The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-gatherers

The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-gatherers

Author: Vicki Cummings

Publisher: Oxford Handbooks

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 1361

ISBN-13: 0199551227

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For more than a century, the study of hunting and gathering societies has been central to the development of both archaeology and anthropology as academic disciplines, and has also generated widespread public interest and debate. This book provides a comprehensive review of hunter-gatherer studies to date, including critical engagements with older debates, new theoretical perspectives, and renewed obligations for greater engagement between researchers and indigenous communities.


Book Synopsis The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-gatherers by : Vicki Cummings

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-gatherers written by Vicki Cummings and published by Oxford Handbooks. This book was released on 2014 with total page 1361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than a century, the study of hunting and gathering societies has been central to the development of both archaeology and anthropology as academic disciplines, and has also generated widespread public interest and debate. This book provides a comprehensive review of hunter-gatherer studies to date, including critical engagements with older debates, new theoretical perspectives, and renewed obligations for greater engagement between researchers and indigenous communities.


African Study Monographs

African Study Monographs

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis African Study Monographs by :

Download or read book African Study Monographs written by and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: