essay

Hunting variability at a recent sedentary Kalahari village

cultural diversity and twentieth-century foragers : an african perspective • Cambridge • Published In 1996 • Pages: 125-156

By: Kent, Susan.

Abstract

In this article, Kent examines the influence of sharing on hunting behavior, skill, and success among six hunters in a recently settled band of foragers over a five-year period. Although now sedentary, hunting remains an important subsistence activity, even for those hunters who own goats. Kent found that although the individual skills of the hunters varied, the time spent hunting and hunting success depended less on the hunter's skill, size of family, or season, and more on sharing practices. A poor hunter would hunt more frequently to supply meat to his sharing network, whereas a more skilled hunter would hunt less in order to maintain sharing equity. Kent concludes that it is the social relationships, both kinship and friendship, that matter most, influencing subsistence practices.

HRAF PubDate

2005

Region

Africa

Sub Region

Southern Africa

Document Type

essay

Evaluation

Creator Type

Ethnologist

Document Rating

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

Ian Skoggard ; 2003

Field Date

1987-1991

Coverage Date

1987-1992

Coverage Place

Kutse, Botswana

Notes

Susan Kent

For bibliographical references see document 76: Kent

LCCN

95017648

LCSH

San (African people)