Hunter gatherer – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

What if prehistoric men and women joined forces in hunting parties? gorodenkoff/iStock via Getty Images Plus

May 30, 2023

‘Man, the hunter’? Archaeologists’ assumptions about gender roles in past humans ignore an icky but potentially crucial part of original ‘paleo diet’

Raven Garvey, University of Michigan

If hunter-gatherers went beyond nose-to-tail eating to include the undigested plant matter in a prey animal’s stomach, assumptions about gendered division of labor start to fall apart.

Our ancestors’ environment and diets, and the limits of our biology, have led to adaptations that have improved human survival through natural selection. But we remain prone to illness and disease anyway. (Shutterstock)

May 19, 2021

Evolutionary medicine looks to our early human ancestors for insight into conditions like diabetes

Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde, Laurentian University; Eric Boivin, Laurentian University, and Meghan McCue, Laurentian University

Evolutionary medicine uses our ancestral history to explain disease prevalence and inform care for conditions like Type 2 diabetes. It also challenges the bio-ethnocentrism of western medicine.

Artist impression of a prehistoric woman hunting. Matthew Verdolivo (UC Davis IET Academic Technology Services)

November 4, 2020

Did prehistoric women hunt? New research suggests so

Annemieke Milks, UCL

New research is challenging the hypothesis that men did the hunting in prehistoric societies.

February 16, 2018

Five surprising things DNA has revealed about our ancestors

George Busby, University of Oxford

The first British people were black – and other interesting findings made possible by genomic sequencing.

Skeletal fragments from Hummervikholmen, one of sites featured in this study. Beate Kjørslevik

January 10, 2018

Ancient DNA sheds light on the mysterious origins of the first Scandinavians

Jan Apel, Lund University

Scandinavia was populated by two main migrations, making its first inhabitants more genetically diverse and adapted to harsh climates than those in the rest of Europe.

Ogiek leaders wait to hear the African Court’s ruling. Daniel Kobei

June 19, 2017

African court’s landmark ruling gives hope to rural people across the continent

Liz Alden Wily, Leiden University

The African court has demonstrated its autonomy in a continent where judicial independence remains shaky in many states.

The Hadza get 15% of their calories from honey. kiwiexplorer/flickr

March 14, 2016

Is it possible to get 15% of your calories from sugar and still be healthy?

Claire Marriott, University of Brighton

The Hadza hunter-gatherer community get 15% of their calories from honey. If they can live on a high-sugar diet, why can’t we?

Skull of a man with multiple lesions on the side, probably caused by a club. Image by Marta Mirazon Lahr, enhanced by Fabio Lahr

January 20, 2016

Finding a hunter‑gatherer massacre scene that may change history of human warfare

Marta Mirazon Lahr, University of Cambridge

Why hunter gatherers weren’t as peaceful as you may think.

Does mankind’s religious instinct date back to prehistoric times? iurri

May 20, 2014

Caveman instincts may explain our belief in gods and ghosts

Steve Kelly, University of Strathclyde

Notions of gods arise in all human societies, from all powerful and all-knowing deities to simple forest spirits. A recent method of examining religious thought and behaviour links their ubiquity and the…

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