Found 693 Documents across 70 Pages (0.039 seconds)
  1. Longevity Among Hunter-Gatherers: A Cross-Cultural ExaminationGurven, Michael - Population and Development Review, 2007 - 1 Hypotheses

    This article seeks to reevaluate the widespread assumption that hunter-gatherers lack the longevity that people in the modern, industrialized world enjoy. Through modeling life expectancy, mortality, and other demographic trends among extant hunter-gatherer, gatherer-horticulturalists, and horticulturalists societies they are able to challenge this belief. The authors conclude that longevity is a "novel feature of Homo sapiens" and that seven decades seems to be the natural lifespan of a human.

    Related DocumentsCite
  2. Resource scarcity drives lethal aggression among prehistoric hunter-gatherers in central CaliforniaAllen, Mark W. - PNAS, 2016 - 2 Hypotheses

    Previous research into the origins of human violence and warfare has oftentimes been inconclusive and controversial. This paper examines two alternative theories as to the evolution of human violence using archaeological records on sharp force trauma (SFT) and blunt force trauma (BFT). The study is limited to 13 different California ethnolinguistic groups. Researchers find that violence is not predicted by sociopolitical complexity, but rather by environmental productivity. This supports the idea that in contexts of resource scarcity, the perceived benefits to engage in lethal aggression may outweigh perceived costs.

    Related DocumentsCite
  3. The Use of Wooden Clubs and Throwing Sticks among Recent ForagersHrnčíř, Václav - Human Nature, 2023 - 7 Hypotheses

    The idea that archaic humans used wooden clubs as weapons is popular but not based on much archaeological evidence, due to the poor preservation of organic materials in the archaeological record. A new study analyzed 57 recent hunting-gathering societies and found that the majority used clubs for violence and/or hunting. The use of throwing sticks was less frequent. The study suggests that the use of clubs by early humans was highly probable, but that prehistoric weapons may have been quite sophisticated and carried strong symbolic meaning. The great variation in the forms and use of clubs and throwing sticks among recent hunter-gatherers suggests that similar variation may have existed in the past.

    Related DocumentsCite
  4. Beyond war: the human potential for peaceFry, Douglas P. - , 2007 - 1 Hypotheses

    This book investigates peaceful societies and the social and ecological conditions that discourage war. The author uses ethnographic examples, cross-cultural findings, primatology, and archaeology to examine war, social organization, human evolution, and conflict management.

    Related DocumentsCite
  5. Infant and child death in the human environment of evolutionary adaptationVolk, Anthony A. - Evolution and Human Behavior, 2013 - 3 Hypotheses

    High infant and child mortality rates are suggested to be one of the most enduring and important features of ancestral human environments, referred to as the Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA). These rates contrast with the very low rates of infant and child mortality among many industrialized nations since the 19th and 20th centuries. The authors compare data from recent hunter-gatherer and agricultural societies, historical records, and non-human primates in attempt to quantitatively describe infant and child mortality rates during the EEA.

    Related DocumentsCite
  6. Myths about hunter-gatherersEmber, Carol R. - Ethnology, 1978 - 4 Hypotheses

    This article challenges common assumptions about hunter-gatherers and demonstrates that previous ideas about residence, division of labor and warfare are not supported by the cross-cultural data.

    Related DocumentsCite
  7. Living with kin in lowland horticultural societiesWalker, Robert S. - Current Anthropology, 2013 - 2 Hypotheses

    This article examines marital residence and sibling coresidence among horticulturalists in the South American lowlands. The authors reject a hypothesis that patrilocality is the defining trait of Amazonian tropical forest culture. Results on horticulturalists are compared with findings on hunter-gatherers: horticulturalists tend to be more uxorilocal. Empirical analysis also suggests that women tend to live with more kin later in life, and in large villages headmen live with more kin than nonheadmen.

    Related DocumentsCite
  8. Belief in moralizing godsRoes, Frans L. - Evolution and Human Behavior, 2003 - 4 Hypotheses

    This article investigates relationships among society size, war and conflict, preferred habitats, and belief in moralizing gods. The authors discuss morality and collective action in the face of natural disasters and competition for resources, theorizing that beliefs in moralizing gods could facilitate such cooperation.

    Related DocumentsCite
  9. Polygynous Neighbors, Excess Men, and Intergroup Conflict in Rural AfricaKoos, Carlo - Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2019 - 2 Hypotheses

    In this paper, the authors argue that polygyny creates social inequality in which economically advantaged men marry multiple women and economically disadvantaged men marry late in life or potentially never. The institution of polygyny results in a higher proportion of single men without families ("excess men"), who, the authors propose, may turn to violence to achieve higher wealth or prestige. Following this theory, the authors hypothesize that societies with more polygynous neighbors will be at higher risk for intergroup conflict, for which they find robust support. They also find that young men in polygynous societies, who are more likely to be economically disadvantaged and have less prestige, are also more likely to feel as though they are treated unequally and more ready to resort to violence, supporting the authors' theorized underlying mechanism.

    Related DocumentsCite
  10. War and social organization: from nomadic bands to modern statesFry, Douglas P. - Beyond War: The Human Potential for Peace, 2007 - 1 Hypotheses

    In this chapter of 'Beyond War,' Douglas critiques previous codes of warfare to make a distinction between feuding and warring. A test of warfare and level of social complexity among hunter-gatherers is conducted. Results indicate that complex hunter-gatherers make war while a majority of simple hunter-gatherers do not.

    Related DocumentsCite