Hunter-Gatherers: Archaeological and Evolutionary Theory
Robert L. BettingerThe book begins with two chapters that deal with the history of anthropological research and theory in relation to hunter-gatherers. The point is not to present a comprehensive or even-handed accounting of developments. Rather, I sketch a history of selected ideas that have determined the manner in which social scientists have viewed, and thus studied, hunter-gatherers. This lays the groundwork for subjects subsequently addressed and establishes two fundamental points. First, the social sciences have always portrayed hunter-gatherers in ways that serve their theories; in short, hunter-gatherer research has always been a theoretical enterprise. Second, these theoretical treatments have generally been either evolutionary or materialist-or both-in perspective.