Question

The Hunters: Scarce Resources in the Kalahari
RICHARD BORSHAY LEE
With an update by Richard Lee and Megan Biesele
Summary Basing his conclusions on an extensive study of !Kung subsistence activity and nutrition in 1963, Richard Lee challenges the notion that hunters and gatherers lived a hand-to-mouth existence. Despite residence in the Kalahari Desert, where there is an average yearly rainfall of only six to nine inches, !Kung managed to lead a remarkably stable, relaxed existence. They resided in camps located at permanent water holes. They frequently visited relatives in other camps but rarely moved long distances to hunt and gather.
Overall, hunter gathering provided over 85% of subsistence needs. A key to assured subsistence was the availability of vegetable foods, particularly the mongongo nut. !Kung could subsist entirely on such foods although they preferred meat. Vegetable foods made up 60 to 80 percent of their diet. The abundance of their sparse environment was revealed by the fact that !Kung ate selectively, consuming only some of the edible plant and animal species found around them. A significant number of !Kung lived beyond the age of 60, and approximately 40 percent of the population did no productive work. !Kung spent only about two and one-half days a week in productive activity, using the remainder of their time for leisure activities. Lee concluded that for many hunting and gathering groups, a dependence on plant foods produced a stable, effective way of life.
The way of life described for 1963 has changed, however. By 1994, most Ju/"Hoansi !Kung were living in permanent settlements, eking out a living by herding, farming, and craft production. Hunting and gathering now only supply about 30 percent of their subsistence needs. The spread of commercial ranching on the areas in which they traditionally foraged may soon reduce this figure to zero.
Because their environment was so difficult, the !Kung relied heavily on the labor of children and old people to provide edible plants for general consumption in 1963.

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