Life Histories of the Dobe !Kung

Life Histories of the Dobe !Kungre-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.

Nancy Howell is Professor Emerita of Sociology at the University of Toronto and author of Demography of the Dobe !Kung.

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Another Look at the !Kung: A Life History Approach	p. 1
Research with the Dobe !Kung	p. 1
Research Results: Demography of the Dobe !Kung	p. 3
Reconsidering the !Kung	p. 5
Poverty and Social Change in the Dobe Area	p. 12
Life History Stages	p. 19
Definitions of Life Stages	p. 20
Prenatal Life and Birth	p. 22
Infancy	p. 24
Childhood	p. 28
Adolescence	p. 32
The Stage of Childbearing	p. 37
Post-Reproductive Life	p. 40
Retirement: Frailty and Dependence	p. 41
Life Stages for Individuals and for the Population	p. 43
Conclusion: Ages and Stages of Life, for !Kung Women and Men	p. 488
Body Size and Growth	p. 49
Why Are the !Kung So Small?	p. 49
Comparison to International Standards of Height and Weight	p. 53
Body Size in Infancy and Early Childhood	p. 60
Childhood Measures Continued: Body Size for Older Children and Adolescents	p. 64
Body Size during the Reproductive Ages	p. 75
Body Size of Post-Reproductive Adults (45+)	p. 77
Summarizing Body Size: The Body Mass Index Difference Measure	p. 79
Calories Required	p. 83
Caloric Requirements for Basal Metabolism	p. 85
Time Budgets of Mean Daily Activities	p. 89
Physical Activity Levels	p. 97
Caloric Requirements for Reproduction	p. 9
Adjustment for Temperature	p. 101
Combining the Components of the Necessary Caloric Costs to the Population	p. 101
Are the !Kung Hard-Working People?	p. 103
Caloric Productivity and Caloric Balance	p. 107
Production of Food	p. 107
Caloric Balance	p. 120
Caloric Balance and Residential Units: Waterholes, Living Groups, Households	p. 127
Waterholes and N!oris	p. 130
Living Groups, Also Known as Bands, Camps, or Villages	p. 139
Households and Their Effects on Well-Being	p. 143
Makhusian, Darwinian, and Common-sense Models of Population Control in the Kalahari	p. 154
Kinship Relations as a Support System for Children	p. 157
Relatives in the Household	p. 158
Effects on Children of Having Grandparents in the Living Group	p. 165
Coresidence of Ancestors in the Weil-Being of Children	p. 168
The Grandmother Role from the Point of View of Older Women	p. 172
Kinship as a Resource for All !Kung	p. 174
Motives for Sharing Food and Other Prosocial Behavior	p. 183
Models of the Motives for Sharing	p. 184
What Do We Mean by a “Surplus”?	p. 194
Sharing Driven by Scarcity	p. 196
Evolutionary Speculation: The Prosocial Brain as a Product of Decisions About Food Sharing, Perceptions of Need, and Nurturance	p. 197
References	p. 211
Index	p. 221
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Life Histories of the Dobe !Kung

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