1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910792599503321

Autore

Howell Nancy

Titolo

Life histories of the Dobe !Kung [[electronic resource] ] : food, fatness, and well-being over the life-span / / Nancy Howell

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berkeley, : University of California Press, c2010

ISBN

1-282-55620-7

9786612556203

0-520-94617-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (249 p.)

Collana

Origins of human behavior and culture ; ; 4

Disciplina

613.2089/961

Soggetti

!Kung (African people) - Food

!Kung (African people) - Nutrition

!Kung (African people) - Health and hygiene

Food habits - Kalahari Desert

Food - Caloric content - Kalahari Desert

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Another Look at the !Kung: A Life History Approach -- 2. Life History Stages -- 3. Body Size and Growth -- 4. Calories Required -- 5. Caloric Productivity and Caloric Balance -- 6. Caloric Balance and Residential Units: Waterholes, Living Groups, Households -- 7. Kinship Relations as a Support System for Children -- 8. Motives for Sharing Food and Other Prosocial Behavior -- References -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Life Histories of the Dobe !Kung re-examines an important anthropological data set for the Dobe !Kung, the well-known "Bushmen" of the Kalahari Desert, collected by Nancy Howell and colleagues. Using life history analysis, Howell reinterprets this rich material to address the question of how these hunter-gatherers maintain their notably good health from childhood through old age in the Kalahari's harsh environment. She divides the population into life history stages that correlate with estimated chronological ages and demonstrates how and why they survive, even thrive, on a modest allotment of calories. She describes how surplus food is produced and



distributed, and she considers both the motives for the generous sharing she has observed among the Dobe !Kung and some evolutionary implications of that behavior.