Resources

What is Anthropology?

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary Anthropology is:

1: the science of human beings; especially : the study of human beings and their ancestors through time and space and in relation to physical character, environmental and social relations, and culture.

2: theology dealing with the origin, nature, and destiny of human beings.

Specifically, anthropology is the study of the human variation.

The American Anthropological Association gives a very detailed definition as well as providing links to the various fields of Anthropology so that you can explore the field.

Since Anthropology is the study of humans the field naturally has many ethical concerns. The American Anthropological Association's Code of Ethics provides guidlines for Anthropological study, especially ethnographic studies.

Foraging Researchers

Here is a list of the work of recent anthropologists who study foraging groups:

• Asen Balikci was interviewed on the anthropology blog Savage Minds.

• Alan Barnard is Professor of the Anthropology of Southern Africa at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He has written dozens of books and articles on population groups in Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa, including the San.

• Hugh Brody interviewed by BBC World Service. Brody is a writer, anthropologist, and filmmaker who worked with the Inuit in the 1970s and 1980s.

• Frank Marlowe is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Florida State University. His research focuses on the behavioral ecology of foraging societies, and he has studied the Hadza of Tanzania since 1995. Many of his published articles can be accessed through his faculty page.

• In The Arms of Africa: The Life of Colin M. Turnbull written by Roy Grinker. Turnbull was a famous anthropologist who studied foragers like the Pygmies of the Ituri Forest and the Ik in Uganda.

• Fred Meyers has studied Australian Aboriginals in the Western Desert. This site contains links to some of his publications.

• An interview with James Woodburn who has conducted research among the Hadza and has written extensively about them.

• Lewis Binford is an archaeologist who has conducted research into ancient hunter-gathers. This book review gives a basic description of Binford's techniques and methods.

• This is a link for a short biography and list of films, books and publications by John Kennedy Marshall.

Course Materials

Click on the Book title for more information.

Balikci, Asen

• 1989 [1970] The Netsilik Eskimo. Prospect Heights (IL): Waveland Press.

Kelly, Robert L.

• 2007 The foraging spectrum - diversity in hunter-gatherer lifeways. Clinton Corners (NY): Eliot Werner Publications/Percheron Press [first edition published by Smithsonian Institution Press in 1995].

Lee, Richard B.

• 2003 The Dobe Ju/'Hoansi. Belmont (CA): Thompson Wadsworth Learning (3rd edition).

Research Links

• If you are an Ohio State University Student, the best place to start is at the OSU Libraries' Anthropology Research Databases. Here you can find links to Anthropology Plus, AnthroSource, the eHRAF collections of Archaeology and Ethnography among others. However these sites are only open to OSU students and those who have subscribed to the databases.

• Although the University of Calgary's Hunter-Gatherer Bibliography was last updated in 1997, it contains hundreds of books and articles and is worth the time to peruse.

• The Bushmeat Crisis Task Force Research Archive was last updated in 2000 and contains many citations on a variety of anthropological topics.

• Baka Pygmies: a website created by anthropologist Mauro Campagnoli based on his research in Central Africa. This website describes many practices of the Baka pygmies including hunting, fishing, material culture, and artwork.

• Marshall Sahlins is the author of the theory of The Original Affluent Society. In this article he describes his theory.

• Countries and Their Cultures is a basic information website for all cultures, but it includes some hunter-gathers as well. It is simple and could be an example of how to set-up our forager pages.

• The Great Basin Indian Archives is a website that is attempting to digitally archive information about the Native American groups that resided within the Great Basin area of the United States of America.

• South African Bushmen: A National Geographic feature with additional links, pictures, and articles.

• This website contains lots of useful information on kinship and social organization of the Ju/'hoansi.

• Khoisan.org is an educational resource provided by the Future Perfect Corporation.

• The Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine provides The Hunter-gatherer spectrum in New Guinea, a brief overview of foraging cultures in New Guinea.

• Indigenous People and Global Warming is the final report from a recent Oxford Symposium on Climate Change and Indigenous People.

• The Ainu Though not an anthropologist, Tommy is a Japanese native who desires to keep his heritage alive. This site provides great information for anyone interested in the Ainu culture.

• Remembering John Marshall is a link for a tribute to John Marshall, an Anthropologist and Film Maker who spent over 50 years with African Hunter-Gatherers.

• Hunter-gatherer spectrum in New Guinea is a web site dedicated to hunter-gatherer societies in New Guinea.

Organizations

• The American Anthropological Association provides a list of organizations that promote and advocate for the rights of indigenous peoples.

• Amazon Conservation Team aims "to work in partnership with indigenous people in conserving biodiversity, health, and culture in tropical America."

• The Center for World Indigenous Studies is a non-profit research and educational organization, aiming to study indigenous cultures of the world.

• Civil Rights.org Indigenous People: a good resource combining news, group information, and information on activism.

• Cultural Survival is an organization that partners with endemic communities to promote the human rights of indigenous peoples throughout the world.

• HUGAFO is a network of hunter-gatherer and post-hunter-gatherer groups in Kenya that are seeking recognition and rights as indigenous peoples.

• IPACC is a network of 150 indigenous peoples’ organizations in 20 African countries.

• The Kalahari Peoples Fund, which is a non-profit organization, was formed for the benefit of the San and other indigenous peoples of the Kalahari Desert.

• The Native American Rights Fund, which is a nonprofit law firm that helps Native American groups with legal counsel.

• An organization known as the Survival International, which was founded in 1969, continues working to promote tribal societies, currently in 82 different countries.

• The Overseas Development Institute of England summarizes current problems that hunter and gatherer groups face during development projects, Hunters-gatherers, Conservation and Development: From Prejudice to Policy Reform. Emphasis is placed on hunter-gatherer lifestyles that are in direct opposition to natural resource management projects.

• The Forest Peoples Programme works with forest peoples to help them secure their rights and to negotiate with governments and companies as to how economic development and conservation can be achieved successfully.

• Ituri Forest Peoples Fund is an organization dedicated to promoting the health and education of the Efe and the Lese of the Ituri Forest.

• Friends of Peoples Close to Nature (fpcn) is a network of people who strive to help the survival of tribal peoples, in particular hunter-gatherer societies.

• The Rainforest Foundation is a group that supports people living in and depending on rainforests around the world.

Music

• The Global Music Exchange is a British organization that records endangered music of indigenous peoples for preservation and sales purposes. Royalties go back to the communities and are used to relieve poverty and to fund community projects.

• Click here to listen to instrumental Ju/'Hoansi music.

• Two women from Puvirnituk, Nunavik (Northern Quebec kept the Inuit throat singing tradition alive by teaching young people and traveling the world in the 1970s with their songs. This album was recently awarded "Best Traditional Album-Historical" at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards.

• Here is the Native American Flute Music, which is a contemporary tribute album to the Native American flute.

• The Australian Aboriginal Didijeridoo is a two-disc set of Didijeridoo music.

• Kiri Te Kenawa, Maori Songs: Kiri is an opera singer, part Maori - an interesting blend of the styles with a pop sensibility.

• An Initiation Song of Mbuti Pygmies of the Ituri Rainforest

• The Baka are hunter-gatherers from Central Africa, found primarily in Cameroon but also in Congo and Gabon, who are renowned hunters, dancers, and musicians. There is a fantastic website that focuses on Baka music and songs, and visitors to the site can listen to songs and instruments; videos and photographs are also posted.

Language

• Ju/ʼHoansi Sounds is a phonological overview of Ju/'Hoansi guttural sounds, complete with sound files.

• N|uu is a highly endangered language representing the last surviving member of a branch of Khoesan, whose speakers include the Ju/'hoansi and San/Khoi.

• The UCLA Phonetics Lab Language project has done a considerable amount of work on documenting in detail the Hadza language system, including their distinct language network. This archived project can be found at: archive.phonetics.ucla.edu

Images

• The Survival International Images is a collection of photos taken by the Survival International group.

• Documentary Educational Resources (DER), an organization founded for the purpose of producing and distributing cross-cultural documentary film for educational use, posted the John Marshall Photo Archive on Flickr. Thousands of photos from 50 years of working with the Ju/'hoansi are accessible to the public, free of charge.

Art

• This website discusses the creation and function of masks in Northwest Coast American Indian society.

• This short video clip, from National Geographic describes Austrailian Aboriginal rock art.

• The Journals of Knud Rasmussen is a movie written and directed by Inuit, portraying the life of one of the last Inuit Shamans and the ethnographic exploration of Knud Rasmussen. It opened at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006.

• Petroglyphs.us contains photographs of prehistoric rock art from the American Southwest and the Great Basin, compiled by archaeologist Donald Austin.

• Bushmen Art website contains original art work from !Xun and Khew Bushmen as well as Naro Bushmen from Botswana. The site also contains histories for each group as well as for the artists and their comments.

• The Glenbow Museum features an online exhibit of Inuit culture and art.

Oral Traditions

• The Northwest Coast Indians are famous for their oral traditions. Many of these stories are captured in carvings found on totem poles.

• One oral tale from the Northwest Coast is provided by Maryanne Kathleen Basti at her website Totem Poles of the North American Northwest Coast Indians

• The Ainu shared their oral traditions through long poems called yukara.

Food

• Fergus the Forager resides in England and lives off of the land. He ate nothing but food that grew wild in England for a month. His personal website tells of his experience and has foraging tips for "Joe Public."

• Are hunter-gatherers that much healthier than industrial peoples are today? The Paleolithic Diet Page promotes eating like foragers as a way to lose weight and stay healthy. Paleofood.com is a collection of recipes using only "meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, nuts, and berries" and is meant as a source of support for people trying the Paleolithic Diet.

• If you are interested in becoming a modern day forager, this link provides photos and descriptions of edible plants and fungi. It also has recipes for preparing foraged food.

• Here is a food quiz to see if you could survive by gathering food. It is mainly based on ideas about Stone Age hunter gatherers, but it is interesting to see if you can decide what foods you can eat and what foods might not be so good to eat.

Miscellaneous

• In the field of Evolutionary Psychology, modern-day foraging societies are often used as analogs for our distant ancestors. This post from Amanda Shaffer at Slate illuminates how this can be misleading.

• Plants of the Gods. This book describes the many hallucinogenic plants used for spiritual purposes.

• Anthropology: The History of Jokes

Image courtesy of www.cartoonstock.com

• HUNTER-GATHERERS, CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT: FROM PREJUDICE TO POLICY REFORM (Overseas Development Institute June, 1999)

This article discusses the situation of present day hunter-gatherers and proposals for efficient resource management.

• Scholars as subsistence foragers

This is a random article that uses foraging behaviors as a model for scholarly activity. A cross-cultural comparison of two entirely different ways of life.