essay

Patterns of senentism among the Basarwa of eastern Botswana

Politics and history in band societiesCambridge [cambridgeshire]Published In 1982 • Pages: 223-267

By: Hitchcock, Robert K..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This paper addresses the question of how and why hunter-gatherer groups reduce their mobility and begin to settle in single locations. In order to illustrate some of the factors involved in the shift to a sedentary way of life the author draws upon data collected over a three and a half year period among mobile and sedentary Basarwa in two areas of eastern Botswana. The article is divided into two parts: the first presenting a general discussion of the causes and consequences of sedentism, while the second is an evaluation of some of the general conclusions in light of specific case material. By approaching the subject of sedentism through case studies Hitchcock hopes to shed light on some of the conditions under which hunter-gatherer groups become sedentary and to clarify some of the broader implications of the process of settllng down (p. 224).
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Population
Composition of population
Acculturation and culture contact
Sociocultural trends
Water supply
Settlement patterns
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
San
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2005
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Africa
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Southern Africa
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
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
John Beierle ; 2003
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
no date
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
not specified
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
eastern Botswana
NotesAdditional notes
Robert K. Hitchcock
Includes bibliographical references (p. 259-267)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
81018043
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
San (African people)