Thread by @h2ner

In 1966 a Harvard Anthropologist named Richard Lee who worked with the !Kung bushman organized a conference titled "Man the Hunter" which spawned myths about hunter-gatherers based on overgeneralizations, ideology, and lies that have perpetuated until today
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The “Bushman model” which arose from this conference claims that HG are egalitarian, low fertility, not territorial, peaceful, dependent on plants, work little, live in small mobile groups, share widely to non-kin, and women produce more food and have some political power

This was in stark contrast to most existing HG research which focused on Abos. This earlier “Australian Model” had assumed HG cooperatively hunted large game, were territorial, had arranged marriage, kin-based organization, male power, had to work hard, and warfare was important

In the 60s/70s the Bushman model pushed the same ideology all of academia (and the US) was heading towards. Equality, peacefulness, "primitive communism," “original affluent society” … all showing HG life as a hippie commune longhouse

Marshall Sahlins, a notorious anti-Vietnam protestor who, according to his obituary, “was not known for his field work…” used the conference to push his idea that HG life is easy. Although anthropologists who have actually spent time in the field tend to disagree

There was a turn back to reality in 1978 when Carol Ember actually reviewed the data (179 societies) and found that the Bushman model is not accurate:
1) Patrilocal in general
2) Gathering is not very important
3) Men contribute more than women to subsistence
4) Warfare is common

So the Bushman model utterly fails when looking at HG outside of southern Africa. But it turns out the Bushman model doesn’t even describe the Bushman themselves accurately!

Lee’s !Kung estimate (marked with a 1 below) is vastly different from a separate !Kung study. The main difference between Lee’s estimate and every other entry here is that, instead of a year, Lee only measured a 28-day period, starting July 6th, the HEIGHT of the dry season!

Despite admitting in his book that mongongo nuts are only eaten in the dry season, Lee pushed his estimate as if it was a representative sample. The !Kung also happened to be at a site in walking distance of 11 of their favorite groves for the whole month.

And for the cherry on top: Lee DROVE !Kung women in his JEEP to the groves!

Lee pretending this was an accurate sample for ideological reasons was borderline fraud and has caused a massive amount of misunderstandings about HG today.

In reality: no other HG group eats nuts/seeds. Men produce more food than women. Animal products are much more important (Note these images still use Lee’s estimate). Plus it is expected that hunting would be MORE important in temperate environments (all modern HG are tropical)

And again, actual HG life is violent, hierarchical, and starvation is always a possibility. Very far from what Lee called "primitive communism" and Sahlins called "affluent." Turns out the two Jewish boys from the city didn't really have a good understanding of nature!