Search

In both radical and mainstream environmental discourses, anthropocentrism (human centredness) is inextricably linked to modern industrial society's drive to control and dominate nature and the generation of our current environmental crisis. Such environmental discourses frequently argue for a retreat from anthropocentrism and the establishment of a harmonious relationship with nature, often invoking the supposed ecological harmony of indigenous peoples and/or other small-scale societies. In particular, the beliefs and values of these societies vis-à-vis their natural environment are taken to be instrumental in their low environmental impact. Here it is argued that, aside from the empirically problematic nature of such claims, the beliefs of small-scale societies have been seen through an ethnocentric discursive framework which bifurcates belief systems into anthropocentric and ecocentric. Taking a meta-theoretical approach informed by Strong Structuration Theory, it is argued that the beliefs of small-scale societies about their relationship with nature should be recognised as lying on a continuum of anthropocentrism and understood in the context of their attempts to establish 'environmental ontological security' in the face of natural uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that infant‐directed speech (IDS) plays a key role in language development. Previous research, however, has also identified significant variability across societies in terms of how often IDS occurs. For example, some studies report very little IDS in non‐western, small‐scale societies – including children growing up in small‐scale societies in Tanna, Vanuatu. This is surprising given that IDS is widely assumed as a common feature of human caregiving based on research conducted in urbanised populations which are more well‐studied. Here, we propose that IDS is only one of a suite of important caregiving behaviours that are produced during interactions with infants, which may vary by culture, perhaps being replaced by other, non‐verbal infant‐directed behaviours (IDB). We will examine previously collected data consisting of 94 semi‐structured 10‐min video observations of caregivers and their 18–24 month‐old children in rural Tanna, Vanuatu and urban Vancouver, Canada to identify and compare the proportion of time caregivers spend engaging in IDS and IDB during these interactions, both within and between societies. We define IDS as caregiver speech or vocalisations during the interaction with the infant, and we define IDB as non‐verbal behaviours that are produced with the infant during the interaction. This study aims to take a step towards a more generalised understanding of language development in children, moving beyond the urban and western societies in which our understanding of development is currently based, and the predicted results will aid in recognising different developmental pathways within multi‐cultural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Climate change is having adverse effects on the livelihoods of small-scale populations, particularly in relation to their subsistence practices. Scientific literature widely acknowledges that smallholders must first perceive climate changes to take necessary precautions and adapt to the new conditions. However, variations exist in the terminology used across the literature, and in how it conceptualizes these perceptions. This variation complicates understanding of the literature and hinders empirical evidence comparisons. Therefore, in this review, we systematically mapped the literature considering variations in the concept's usage across different thematic areas. Our goal was to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of the literature on smallholder climate change perceptions. Methods: In our systematic map, we adhered to the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence guidelines. We searched the literature adopting English terms and using five electronic databases of scientific publications (Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, BASE–Bielefeld Academic Search Engine, PubMed, and Science Direct Elsevier). We then screened the retrieved articles' titles, abstracts, and full texts according to predefined eligibility criteria. Articles meeting the eligibility criteria were chosen for full reading, data extraction, and coding, utilizing a prepared codebook. No validity appraisal occurred in this selection. A database containing coded metadata for all studies is accessible for reference. Review findings: After screening 5358 articles (titles and abstracts), we identified and thoroughly reviewed 361 eligible articles at full text to map the usage of the climate change perception concept. Among these, 73 articles provided explicit definitions of perception, falling into seven categories: risk perception, perception based on psychological constructs and sensory stimuli, awareness, prior experience, observation of climate variables, beliefs, and uncertainties or threats. Implicit definitions of perception with various constructs were found, including those rooted in Cognitive Psychology, awareness, risk perception, traditional knowledge, beliefs, concerns about climate change, experiences of exposure to its effects, attitudes, worldviews, and scientific knowledge. Articles usually address multiple topics. Notably, 88% of the articles did not present any theory throughout their content. Geographically, Africa and Asia were the most frequently studied continents, with more focus on non-indigenous small-scale populations than indigenous ones. Conclusions: In conclusion, the perception concept exhibits an interdisciplinary nature. Therefore, fostering continuous dialogue among diverse disciplines is imperative to establishing an interdisciplinary definition of the term. An in-depth understanding of the perception concept is essential, as its absence can result in erroneous conclusions, limited adaptation strategies, and a lack of awareness among small-scale populations regarding climate change impacts. Misconceptions about this concept can lead to ineffective policies, further endangering vulnerable populations. Defining the concept and its constructs facilitates article comparisons. Without this definition, meaningful comparisons become unfeasible. Moreover, the absence of proper perception definitions poses challenges for small-scale populations, researchers, and stakeholders in developing effective, efficient, and flexible adaptations over time. Perception is the first step in incorporating adaptation strategies and must be translated into policies to address climate change impacts efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is substantial evidence pointing towards a rise in mental health problems among young people worldwide. A recent survey showed that, compared to older age groups, Faroese young people aged 18–24 struggled the most with symptoms of psychological stress, depression, and loneliness. They also worried more about their economic and housing conditions compared to their older counterparts. The reasons for the higher degree of young people´s mental health challenges, however, remain unclear. The aim of this study was therefore to gain insight into the contributors to young people´s mental health. Six semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with 28 people aged 18–34. Through the thematic analysis, three main themes were identified: 1. Too many options, 2. High expectations and 3. Limiting small-scale living. We interpret these themes as being intricately connected to the recent societal changes, and we address the importance of understanding young people´s mental health considering this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropologists have long studied how small-scale societies manage climate variation. Here, we investigate how Yucatec Maya subsistence farmers respond to climate stress, and the ways in which market integration may enhance or disturb response stategies. Using information on harvest returns, climate perceptions, household economics and helping networks, modelling results show that as farmers rely more on market inputs (e.g. seed, tractors, fertilizer) for a successful yield, the reasons given for a bad harvest shift from climate variables to access to quality inputs. We also find that social and economic diversification is key to mediating a household's experience of climate and market shocks. The Maya are astute stewards of climate knowledge, and have effective social and economic means to mitigate potential fluctuations in food availability. In the transition from a subsistence to a market integrated economy, these traditional strategies become strained. Reliance on market inputs forges a more rigid food production system that conflicts with the diversity and flexibility on which traditional strategies depend to manage climate variation. Moving forward, the best policies would be those that facilitate maintaining an equal footing in both a subsistence maize economy, while incorporating new market opportunities. This article is part of the theme issue 'Climate change adaptation needs a science of culture'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are numerous reports on the subjecting of children to various forms of violence as a disciplinary method throughout history, from ancient to modern times. Punishing children using physical violence, as a method of acquiring compliance with various social norms dictated by adults, has been continuously practiced during recorded humanity. The current international standards on children’s rights that require protection against violence have emerged in the past few decades as a societal response to the quasi-universal use of corporal punishment in modern societies. By contrast, in their empirical fieldwork done since the XIXth century in many hunter-gatherer societies, the ethnographers have found that most of these societies are characterized by the absence or the exceptional use of corporal punishment against children. In this regard, one area of interest consists in the significant differences in child discipline between hunter-gatherer and agrarian societies. Therefore, this analysis aims to explore variations in parental attitudes towards child-rearing in these two types of small-scale societies, integrating a historical perspective and taking into account variables such as indulgence towards children's behaviour, responsiveness to children's needs, affection towards children, children's autonomy, father involvement and their correlations with the absence or presence of corporal punishment. For ethnographic information, I used Yale University's eHRAF database, from which 601 ethnographic texts on 139 small-scale societies (85 hunter-gatherer societies and 54 agrarian societies) were extracted, coded, and analysed. Interpretation of the data indicates that hunter-gatherer societies have positive, non-punitive and more responsive parenting approaches to children's needs, lacking physical punishment, while agrarian societies have scores indicating the presence of violent methods of discipline and parenting practices focused on submission and punishment. All five parental attitudes included in the analysis scored higher in egalitarian societies than in agrarian ones. The most pronounced disparity between the two types of cultures is related to the indulgent nature of parental care. In addition, attitudes of emotional neglect and reduced expression of affection towards children and limited father involvement in child rearing correlate very strongly with the choice of physical punishments for child discipline. The findings of this analysis highlight the importance of considering the historical and cultural context of parent-child interactions and cultural determinants in choosing positive parenting methods and provide a historical-anthropological perspective for promoting the normative prohibition of all forms of violence against children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Musculoskeletal pain is the most debilitating human health condition. Neurophysiological pain mechanisms are highly conserved and promote somatic maintenance and learning to avoid future harm. However, some chronic pain might be more common owing to mismatches between modern lifestyles and traits that originally evolved under distinct premodern conditions. To inform assumptions about factors affecting chronic pain vulnerability prior to industrialization, we assess pain prevalence, perceived causes, and predictors among Tsimane forager-horticulturalists. Habitual subsistence work is the primary reported cause of pain throughout life for both sexes, and pain is more common with age, especially in the back, and for those with more musculoskeletal problems. Sex differences in pain are relatively weak, and we find no association between women's reproductive history and pain, contrary to the hypothesis that reproduction causes women's greater pain susceptibility. Age-standardized current pain prevalence is 1.7–8.2 times higher for Tsimane than other select populations, and Tsimane chronic pain prevalence is within the range of variation observed elsewhere. Chronic low back pain is not a 'mismatch disease' limited to post-industrialized populations. Hominin musculoskeletal changes supporting bipedalism probably imposed health costs, which, after millions of years of evolution, remain an epidemiological burden that may be exacerbated by modern conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women and girls cooperate with each other across many domains and at many scales. However, much of this information is buried in the ethnographic record and has been overlooked in theoretic constructions of the evolution of human sociality and cooperation. The assumed primacy of male bonding, hunting, patrilocality and philopatry has dominated the discussion of cooperation without balanced consideration. A closer look at the ethnographic record reveals that in addition to cooperative childcare and food production, women and girls collectively form coalitions, have their own cooperative political, ceremonial, economic and social institutions, and develop female-based exchange and support networks. The numerous ethnographic examples of female cooperation urge reconsideration of gender stereotypes and the limits of female cooperation. This review brings together theoretic, cross-cultural and cross-lifespan research on female cooperation to present a more even and empirically supported view of female sociality. Following the lead from trends in evolutionary biology and sexual selection theory, the hope going forward is that the focus shifts from rote characterizations of sex differences to highlighting sources of variation and conditions that enhance or constrain female cooperative engagement. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cooperation among women: evolutionary and cross-cultural perspectives'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women and girls cooperate with each other across many domains and at many scales. However, much of this information is buried in the ethnographic record and has been overlooked in theoretic constructions of the evolution of human sociality and cooperation. The assumed primacy of male bonding, hunting, patrilocality and philopatry has dominated the discussion of cooperation without balanced consideration. A closer look at the ethnographic record reveals that in addition to cooperative childcare and food production, women and girls collectively form coalitions, have their own cooperative political, ceremonial, economic and social institutions, and develop female-based exchange and support networks. The numerous ethnographic examples of female cooperation urge reconsideration of gender stereotypes and the limits of female cooperation. This review brings together theoretic, cross-cultural and cross-lifespan research on female cooperation to present a more even and empirically supported view of female sociality. Following the lead from trends in evolutionary biology and sexual selection theory, the hope going forward is that the focus shifts from rote characterizations of sex differences to highlighting sources of variation and conditions that enhance or constrain female cooperative engagement. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cooperation among women: evolutionary and cross-cultural perspectives'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Central Western Argentina (CWA), the Provincial Inca pottery has been the most ubiquitous indicator of Inca influence and expansionism during the fifteenth–sixteenth centuries. This paper presents a petrographic analysis of thin sections of ceramic samples from the Inca and local sites located throughout CWA, in order to contribute to the study of the provenance of raw materials, technology, and distribution networks. The results point to a heterogeneous petrographic composition, consistent with a decentralized production model. However, major uniformity in pastes, and a higher correlation with the local geology, is identified in two sectors: the Uspallata Valley and Southern San Juan. Some innovations in production practices (such as grog and volcanic glass inclusions) are also noteworthy, probably in relation to the emergence of new socio-ethnic identities. This information is compared with their archaeological background to contribute to the discussion of the organization of pottery production during the Inca dominance of the state’s southern frontier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Climate change is affecting small-scale populations worldwide. Evidence of adverse effects has been reported for smallholders' agriculture, hunting, fishing, and gathering products from natural ecosystems (non-timber forest products). To take precautions or deal with such problems (i.e. to adapt), smallholders need to perceive climatic changes. Acknowledging this need, the literature on this topic is vast. Despite that, authors adopt alternative concepts of climate change perception, which may hinder comparisons of results across studies. Hence, the review team aim to systematically map the literature usage of the climate change perception concept. Methods: This systematic map will follow the CEE guidelines and conform to the Reporting Standards for Systematic Evidence form. The review team will rely on five electronic databases of scientific publications—Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, BASE—Bielefeld Academic Search Engine, Science Direct Elsevier and PubMed—with pre-tested search terms only in English. Publications will be filtered through the "articles only" and "English language" selections. Titles, abstracts, and full texts will then be screened using pre-defined eligibility criteria, including small-scale and indigenous populations inhabiting rural areas, as well as presenting explicitly or implicitly the concept of climate change perception. From articles meeting the eligibility criteria, the review team will extract and encode the data while selecting the full texts for reading. The review team will use a codebook pre-elaborated for encoding. No critical appraisal of study validity will be undertaken. Finally, a database with coded metadata of all studies in the map will be made available. The review team will present the evidence in a report map with text, figures, and tables, besides a catalogue of all identified perception definitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maasai and other Maa-speaking pastoralists in Kenya and Tanzania have a risk-pooling system that they refer to by their word for the umbilical cord (osotua). Gifts from one osotua partner to another are contingent on the recipient's need and do not create any debt. We refer to such gifts as need-based transfers. Maa-speakers also have a system of debt-based transfers (esile) in which gifts must be repaid. We designed an agent-based model to compare the impacts on herd survival of need-based and debt-based transfers on networks of varying topologies and sizes and with different degrees of temporal correlation of shocks felt by the agents. We found that the use of need-based rather than debt-based transfers, greater network modularity, greater network size, and decreased correlation among shocks were associated with increased rates of survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychological research in small-scale societies is crucial for what it stands to tell us about human psychological diversity. However, people in these communities, typically Indigenous communities in the global South, have been underrepresented and sometimes misrepresented in psychological research. Here I discuss the promises and pitfalls of psychological research in these communities, reviewing why they have been of interest to social scientists and how cross-cultural comparisons have been used to test psychological hypotheses. I consider factors that may be undertheorized in our research, such as political and economic marginalization, and how these might influence our data and conclusions. I argue that more just and accurate representation of people from small-scale communities around the world will provide us with a fuller picture of human psychological similarity and diversity, and it will help us to better understand how this diversity is shaped by historical and social processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the initial steps in the domestication process of the wolf. We discuss the human-initiated model in which wolf pups were brought to camp sites by male hunters and cared for by nursing women. A good relation between the more sociable and playful pups and the women and their children likely formed affiliative bonds and led to the survival of such pups into maturity. Some of these animals could have reproduced and delivered at least one litter. A selection on the behaviour of subsequent generations could ultimately have led to Palaeolithic dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Guillermo de Ockham is the property of Revista Cientifica Guillermo de Ockham, Universidad de San Buenaventura and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Meridian Critic is the property of Meridian Critic and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although subsistence hunting is cross-culturally an activity led and practiced mostly by men, a rich body of literature shows that in many small-scale societies women also engage in hunting in varied and often inconspicuous ways. Using data collected among two contemporary forager-horticulturalist societies facing rapid change (the Tsimane' of Bolivia and the Baka of Cameroon), we compare the technological and social characteristics of hunting trips led by women and men and analyze the specific socioeconomic characteristics that facilitate or constrain women's engagement in hunting. Results from interviews on daily activities with 121 Tsimane' (63 women and 58 men) and 159 Baka (83 women and 76 men) show that Tsimane' and Baka women participate in subsistence hunting, albeit using different techniques and in different social contexts than men. We also found differences in the individual and household socioeconomic profiles of Tsimane' and Baka women who hunt and those who do not hunt. Moreover, the characteristics that differentiate hunter and non-hunter women vary from one society to the other, suggesting that gender roles in relation to hunting are fluid and likely to change, not only across societies, but also as societies change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Relaciones de la Sociedad Argentina de Antropología is the property of Sociedad Argentina de Antropologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper situates Eastern Africa in the early maritime trade of the Indian Ocean, reviewing evidence for connections from Egypt and Red Sea, the Gulf, and Southeast Asia from prehistory to the Islamic Period. The region played a pivotal role in developing global networks, but we argue that it has become the "forgotten south" in an era of emerging empires. One reason for this is a lack of understanding of maritime mobility around the rim of the Indian Ocean, often undertaken by small scale or specialist groups, including sea nomads. These groups are characterised as marginalised and victimised during globalisation, yet dualising into categories—such as "exploiter" and "exploiting"—oversimplifies what was almost certainly in reality a complex array of roles and activities, both in the context of East Africa and elsewhere around the Indian Ocean. Through modern scientific-based excavation and analysis, we can now begin to more fully understand these interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In small-scale societies children have great access to observing adult roles and this is often reflected in their play, however very few empirical studies of work-themed play have been conducted despite substantial implications that this type of play has for social learning. The current study describes the work-themed play patterns of 1 1/2- to 4-year-old Aka and Bofi foragers and Bofi farmers in Central Africa and examines the extent to which subsistence economy, age, and gender predicted how often children were observed engaging in work-themed play and characteristics of workthemed play. Overall, farmer children engaged in more work-themed play than forager children. Very few gender differences were observed in work-themed play. Age and subsistence economy predicted tendencies for children to be near adults while engaged in work-themed play and to use objects in their work-themed play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although archaeological study of ritual as performance has garnered increasing attention in recent years, such research has primarily focused on large-scale, complex societies and, therefore, on the relation of performance to politics and power. In contrast, this paper explores archaeological assessment of public performance within small-scale societies, considering especially the significance of specific practices to social integration, identity, and historicity. This analysis is informed by emerging interdisciplinary theory on ritual, dramatization, and performance, and draws on archaeological evidence of cyclic communal mourning rites in coastal southern California that reveal aspects of performance including item manufacture, burning, pigmentation, sequential fragmentation, and structured deposition in ‘persistent places’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Over the past century, the fields of archaeology and anthropology have produced a number of different theoretical approaches and a substantial body of data aimed at ways to understand hunter-gatherer, horticultural, and agropastoral societies. This review considers four recent edited volumes on foraging and food-producing societies. These books deal in innovative ways with a broad array of issues, including transitions in human prehistory and history, mobility, land use, sharing, technology, social leveling strategies, leadership, and the formation of social hierarchies. Small-scale societies include hunter-gatherers or foragers, while middle-range societies may include complex hunter-gatherer (ones with storage and delayed return systems), horticultural, and agropastoral societies, some of them with institutionalized leadership, status hierarchies, and differential access to power and resources. An important set of themes in these books includes diversity in adaptations to complex social and natural environments, the significance of (1) matter, (2) energy, and (3) information in small-scale and middle-range societies on several continents, the persistence of foraging, and the development of inequality. The roles of sharing, exchange, and leadership in small-scale and middle-range societies are explored, as are explanations for social, economic, and political transformations among groups over time and across space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Stable oxygen isotopes (δ18O) from human bone apatite from central western Argentina (30º-37ºS latitude) were analysed to understand changes in human residential mobility during the Late Holocene. This region contains evidence for the use of domesticated plants over the last 2000 years ( Zea mays, Cucurbita sp. and Phaseolus sp., among others), and previous models of prehistoric occupation have suggested a distinct change in mobility and population movement associated with their incorporation. The importance of these domesticates also seems to have varied geographically, being greater in the northern part of the region and declining as one moves south toward the limit with Patagonia. Expectations about patterns of residential mobility have varied accordingly. To better evaluate these models, we analysed carbonate δ18O from the bone apatite of 71 individuals with radiocarbon dates spanning the last 6000 years. Given the existing evidence, we expected to see temporal and geographic differences in their oxygen isotope values associated with changes in residential mobility and the incorporation of different sources of drinking water available within the region. These expectations were not met. Significant variations were seen across all samples compared, both temporal and geographic, with no discernible differences among them. The data suggest that populations throughout the area were all highly mobile, and that this did not change with the incorporation of domesticates. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gaze is considered a crucial component of early communication between an infant and her caregiver. When communicatively addressed, infants respond aptly to others' gaze by following its direction. However, experience with face‐to‐face contact varies across cultures, begging the question whether infants' competencies in receiving others' communicative gaze signals are universal or culturally specific. We used eye‐tracking to assess gaze‐following responses of 5‐ to 7‐month olds in Vanuatu, where face‐to‐face parent–infant interactions are less prevalent than in Western populations. We found that—just like Western 6‐month‐olds studied previously—5‐ to ‐7‐month‐olds living in Vanuatu followed gaze only, when communicatively addressed. That is, if presented gaze shifts were preceded by infant‐directed speech, but not if they were preceded by adult‐directed speech. These results are consistent with the notion that early infant gaze following is tied to infants' early emerging communicative competencies and rooted in universal mechanisms rather than being dependent on cultural specificities of early socialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]