Lecture Overview

• Definition and significance of hunter-gatherers
• Variation among hunter-gatherers post-Ice Age

Sociopolitical Types

• Morton Fried and Elman Service's hierarchal model: Band, Tribe, Chiefdom, State
• Bands synonymous with "Hunter-Gatherers"

Generalized Features of Bands

• Small population size
• Large land-use scale
• Egalitarian access to resources
• Division of labor based only on age and sex
• Reciprocity in exchange
• Mobile settlement patterns
• Dispute resolution via fissioning
• Situational and non-permanent leadership

Access to Resources

• Egalitarianism as a cultural construct
• Reinforced through cultural actions (e.g., leveling mechanisms)

Mobility

• Key to resource sustainability
• Prevents overexploitation, minimizes energy use, eases social tensions

Hunter-Gatherer Ecology

• Diversity influenced by environmental factors:
  • Availability of resources (plants vs. animals)
  • Structure (patchy vs. widespread)
  • Timing (perennial vs. seasonal)
  • Reliability (predictable vs. unpredictable)

Seasonal Diets

• Example: Copper Inuit's seasonal diet includes seal, polar bear, fish, caribou
• Jomon period in Japan featured varied seasonal subsistence activities

Archaeological Insights into Diet

• Analysis of human bones reveals distinct chemical signatures of diet (marine, terrestrial, agricultural)

Ice Core Studies

• Ice cores reveal historical temperature patterns through isotopic analysis
• Correlation of heavy and light oxygen isotopes with past climate conditions

Holocene Period (11,700 years ago)

• Transition from Pleistocene to Holocene marked by warmer temperatures and rising sea levels

Hunter-Gatherers in North America

• Diverse practices, particularly prior to plant domestication
• Major regions include Arctic, West Coast/Plateau, Plains, Great Basin, Lower Southeast

Aquatic Resource Exploitation

• Increased focus on shellfish, fish, and other aquatic resources in Holocene

Midden Analysis

• Organic materials preserved in middens (bones, plant remains)
• Example from Koster, Illinois, indicating reliance on waterways and mixed subsistence

Bison Hunting Practices

• Middle Archaic Plains cultures developed advanced hunting techniques for bison
• Bison jumps utilized repeated strategies for hunting

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

• Evidence of engineered drive lanes for successful bison hunts
• Long-term usage and social organization in hunting practices