Page Information:
This page is dedicated to summaries, explanations and reviews of the chapters and content inside The Foraging Spectrum. This page is for both discussion of the book and a presentation of its main ideas to those who have not read it. By creating this page, a visitor to the wiki, who had not been a student of the course, will be able to understand the primary textbook for the course and the theoretical context in which the class is placed. Any relevant pages within the course wiki, such as critical reviews or lectures, will be included in the chapter summary of the same topic.
Summary (Overall)
In each chapter Kelly utilizes a certain formula, which creates a great amount of cohesiveness from chapter to chapter and logically organizes the great amount of detail presented about the variation of hunter-gatherer groups. In addressing each major aspect for study of foraging societies, Kelly introduces the topic to the reader through a generalization, which examines alternative explanations and acts as a recollection of the existing literature and theoretical frameworks. Then, in almost every chapter, Kelly presents a table of data or of characteristics central to the topic of the chapter but involves illustrating a range of variation across the many foraging societies listed. Next, Kelly proceeds to show the assumptions, which the "Man the Hunter" conference has made and still persist in some theories. During this entire pathway, Kelly emphasizes the idea that variation cannot be undercut for simple, clean theories. Kelly does not accept those theories which must include a statement like "and fits most foraging groups except for" so and so, which is just an anomaly. Kelly is also a good synthesizer throughout his use of his chapter formula. One of his goals is to show what good ideas each theory brings to the table so that it can be incorporated into a more complex view of hunter-gatherers. Now the chapter is at the point where Kelly suggests his own explanation for diversity and describes his research methods. The chapter ends with a review of theoretical literature and research as a means to explain his suggested correlation.
Summaries by Chapter
The page you will be presented with following each link will have the chart(s) from that chapter and a short discussion of the major points Kelly makes. His charts are one of the most important contributions of his book. They synthesize various data and theories into very helpful tools for understanding.
- Hunter-Gatherers and Anthropology
- Environment, Evolution, and Anthropological Theory
- Foraging and Subsistence
- Foraging and Mobility
- Sharing, Exchange, and Land Tenure
- Group Size and Reproduction
- Men, Women, and Foraging
- Egalitarian and Nonegalitarian Hunter-Gatherers
- Hunter-Gatherers and Prehistory
