article
Timing and management of birth among the !Kung: biocultural interaction in reproductive adaptation
Cultural anthropology • 2 (1) • Published In 1987 • Pages: 11-28
By: Konner, Melvin, Shostak, Marjorie.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this paper, Konner and Shostak examine the influence of cultural traditions on birth spacing and birth management among the !Kung. Although the !Kung do not use contraception or abstain from sex, they have low natural fertility. Late menarche and long birth spacing contribute to this low rate. !Kung women practice frequent nursing which according to one study produces high serum prolactin levels that inhibits gonadal function and effects amenorrhea. The authors also discuss how !Kung women keep to an ideal of physical courage and give both entirely alone. According to the authors this stoicism helps to reduce fear that might precipitate unfortunate outcomes. Also solitary birth reduces the possibility of infection from intermediaries.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Physiological data
- Menstruation
- Childbirth
- Postnatal care
- Infant feeding
- Infant care
- 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
- article
- 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
- Ian Skoggard ; 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)
- Botswana
- NotesAdditional notes
- by Melvin Konner and Marjorie Shostak
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 27-28)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 0886007356
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- San (African people)