HUNTING AND FORAGING AS A WAY OF LIFE
Time required: 2-3 hours
A. Overview: In this section the students will begin to explore specific past cultures and how they lived. At the beginning of class, a current events article is discussed: if a student has brought in the article, they introduce it to the class; the instructor then encourages discussion of what has been learned by this article and what information may be lacking. In an effort to reinforce the connection between anthropology and archaeology, ethnographic examples of foraging societies will be discussed and shown through video. Additionally, discussion of how we learn about the kinds of foods people ate and how they lived will reinforce the scientific nature of archaeology. This module is mostly lecture and video.
B. Lesson Objectives
1. Document the evidence of early occupation in the Americas
2. Define hunters and gatherers ('human groups who use only the wild, natural resources of the earth, fishing, hunting animals, collecting plants, nuts, seeds, shellfish, and other foods for their sustenance" [Price and Feinman, p. 159]).
3. Identify the periods and dates of occupation: Paleoindian, Archaic.
4. Describe modern/recent examples of hunting and gathering groups.
5. Identify similarities between foraging by hunters and gatherers and in today's world (e.g., shopping, going to the mall, dumpster diving, etc.).
6. Describe key characteristics, including social structure, technology, ideology, and land use patterns.
7. Identify principles of diverse interests and social relevance.
C. Matrix Principles:
1. Diverse interests: descendant communities and their interest in learning about past subsistence strategies.
2. Social relevance: discussion of the ways archaeological information benefits society, what we can learn about different subsistence strategies and ways to use the environment.
D. Instructional Procedures: This module is primarily lecture and student activity. The current events portion is introduced to tie in archaeology to today's world. Throughout the lecture, students are asked questions to ensure they are grasping the concepts introduced. It is important to tie in real-world experiences to the content, so the questions ask the students to think of some of the concepts in the context of today's world. PowerPoint is useful to help identify concepts, but the lecture can be taught with traditional technology (whiteboard, etc.).
E. Assessment: Students are assessed on this topic in two ways. They complete two short reflections addressing some of the objectives in this topic, and they complete an in-class activity discussing examples of foraging activities.
F. Lecture Outline:
1. Current events: discuss recent new article on anthropology/archaeology. What did you learn from this article? What information do you still want to know? Are there any biases in the reporting?
2. Describe examples of modern/recent hunting and gathering groups.
3. Review chronological data: Paleoindian period, Archaic period. Examine examples of archaeological sites, providing chronological data: Head-Smashed-In, Alberta, Canada; Monte Verde, Chile; Folsom and Clovis sites, New Mexico; Gatecliff Shelter, Nevada; Hohokam sites in Tucson; Paleoindian sites in Florida, etc. Describe archaeological evidence: artifacts, technology, palynology, and flotation.
4. Discuss complexity of lifeways for foraging societies; remind students that complexity can cross-cut different aspects of culture (the Faces of Culture "Patterns of Subsistence: Food Foragers and Pastoralists" video [Abrams and Bishop 1994] discusses the belief system of the Netsilik Eskimo).
5. Videos on archaeological evidence: Nova: "Search for First Americans" (Campbell-Jones 1992; Meadowcroft Rock Shelter, Monte Verde) or The Infinite Voyage: "The Search for Ancient Americans" (Elder 1990; Paleoindian, Archaic people of Florida). Discuss with students what the archaeological evidence tells about lifeways; tie in archaeological data to behavior.
6. References:
Time Detectives, Brian Fagan (1995), pp. 58-74.
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre (2004), "Archaeological Facts: Anatomy of the Site."
Florida Historical Contexts: The Paleoindian Period (Borremans and Florida DHR 2004).
G. Activity and Readings:
Price and Feinman: pages 148-151; 182-194.
Hunting and Gathering (Effland and MCC 2004).
The Nunamiut Eskimo (Effland and MCC 2004).
The Arctic People: Inuit (Effland and MCC 2004).
Meadowcroft Rock Shelter ( Minnesota State University, Mankato, EMuseum 2003b).
Preceramic Society in the Central Andean Highlands (Rick 2004).
Hunting and Gathering (Law 1996b). Read pages 1-3 on this Web site.
Based the readings of the above Web sites, have students identify key characteristics of foraging societies: social structure, technology, spiritual beliefs,and foraging strategies. Ask students to provide examples of foraging societies in their own world and compare these same characteristics to those discussed in class.
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