The anthropology of hunter-gatherers : key themes for archaeologists / Vicki Cummings.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Print version record.

This book provides a basic introduction to key debates in the study of hunter-gatherers, specifically from an anthropological perspective, but designed for an archaeological audience. Hunter-gatherers have been the focus of intense anthropological research and discussion over the last hundred years, and as such there is an enormous literature on communities all over the world. Yet, among the diverse range of peoples studied, there are a number of recurrent themes, including not only the way in which people make a living (hunting, gathering and fishing) but also striking similarities in other a.

Cover; HalfTitle; Series; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; List of figures; List of tables; Preface; A note on names; Acknowledgements; 1 Introduction: Can the study of modern hunter-gatherers help us understand the past?; The aim of the volume; What constitutes a 'modern' hunter-gatherer and who studies them?; What is ethnographic analogy?; Analogy; Conclusion; 2 Making a living: Hunter-gatherer subsistence; Introduction; Hunting; Gathering; Fishing and marine resources; Immediate and delayed return systems; Beyond hunting and gathering: Dealing with domestication and domesticates.

Ethnographic analogy: Understanding past subsistenceConclusions; 3 Moving on up: Mobility and settlement; Introduction; Why do hunter-gatherers move?; Hunter-gatherer sites and dwellings; Hunter-gatherer sedentism; Problems of ethnographic analogy; Conclusions; 4 Complex issues: Society and social organization; Introduction; Characterizing society; Hunter-gatherers and gender; Kinship; Problems of ethnographic analogy; Conclusions; 5 Thinking about the world: Hunter-gatherer belief systems; Introduction; Animism; Creation mythology and understanding the universe; Shamanism?

Rites of passage: From birth to deathThe use of ethnographic analogy; Conclusions; 6 Being in the world: Hunter-gatherer landscapes; Introduction; Landscapes and hunter-gatherers; The moral landscape; Hunter-gatherer rock art; The use of ethnographic analogy; Conclusions; 7 Living in a material world: Hunter-gatherer material culture; Introduction; Hunter-gatherer material culture; Sharing, trade, exchange and gift-giving; Problems of ethnographic analogy; Conclusion; 8 Conclusions: How the study of modern hunter-gatherers can help us understand the past; Introduction.

Thinking about ethnographic analogyBeyond hunter-gatherers; Conclusions; References; Index.

English.

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