article

Hunting and nuclear families: some lessons from the Hadza about men's work

Current anthropology42 (5)Published In 2001 • Pages: 681-709

By: Hawkes, Kristen, O'Connell, James F., Blurton Jones, N. G. (Nicholas G.).

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article seeks to explain why the Hazda—and similar hunting and gathering societies—display a gendered division of labor in which men hunt and women gather. The analysis begins by considering the theory that human ecological and behavioral evolution favored wives and children depending on husbands and fathers for providing game. In testing this theory, however, the authors observed that Hadza fathers did not preferentially give meat to their own nuclear family. Instead, big game meat was always distributed among all band members and visitors. The authors argue in favor of a broader explanation that includes cultural meanings that define hunting as a more prestigious activity, enabling hunters to enjoy additional entitlements, including influence over other people within the domestic group and beyond.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Ethos
Division of labor by gender
Functional and adaptational interpretations
Family relationships
Diet
Nutrition
Child care
Infant feeding
Infant care
Social personality
Collecting
Annual cycle
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Hadza
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2019
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Africa
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Eastern Africa
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Biological Anthropologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Teferi Abate Adem; 2018
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1985-1986, 1988, 1989
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1985-1989
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
southeastern Lake Eyasi area, Tanzania
NotesAdditional notes
by K. Hawkes, J.F. O'Connell, and N.G. Blurton Jones
Comments by: Duran Bell (p. 695-696) -- Rebecca Bliege Bird and Douglas W. Bird (p. 696-697) -- Raymond Hames (p. 697-698) -- Paula K. Ivey (p. 698-699) --Alexander Kazankov (p. 699-700) -- Monica Minnegal (p. 700-701) -- Craig Stanford (p. 701) -- G.W. Wenzel (p.701-702) -- Reply (p. 702-705)
Includes bibliographical references (p. 705-709)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
a 63000576
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Hatsa (African people)