Customer Reviews

Hunter-Gatherers: Archaeological and Evolutionary Theory (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology)

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With the announcement of Bettinger's new publication "Hunter-Gatherer Foraging: Five Simple Models", I came across a past negative review of his earlier work "Hunter-Gatherers: Archaeological and Evolutionary Theory" from 1991 that surprised me. Having used this earlier book among others in an anthropology HG course I felt it was appropriate to the coursework. It is unfortunate that those not studying or working in the field would make comments such as "full of a PH. D's arrogant use of extensive and irrelavent vocabulary". This text is an academic publication targeted specifically to students and professionals. This is not a layperson intro coffee table book. It is sad that those who make these kinds of comments don't recognize this and inadvertently acknowledge this lack of understanding by the very comment they make.

What happened to middle range theory? How do social/cultural anthropology and other anthropological disciplines relate to archaeology today? What are the questions driving the disciplines and how are researchers trying to answer them in a program that has as its goal a General Theory of Humanity?
This book will bring you up to the end of the 80s on these questions. There is certainly some use of jargon but certainly less than in many other disciplines; as such, this book will be difficult for the newcomer who hasn't studied hunter-gatherers, human ecology, "New" archaeology, and "middle range theory," but this book is not really meant for the uninitiated. It is an intellectual history of the importance of hunter-gatherers as a research subject, their importance to several subdisciplines of anthropology and other disciplines, and the history of intellectual thought regarding this integral phase of human existence. I think this book is highly valuable as a milestone for those pursuing in depth a program of understanding the theory behind the narratives-how do archaeologists and anthropologists make claims for the behavior of ancient peoples? How is behavior reflected in archaeological remains? How do archaeologists cross from the remains in the ground to the narratives of past lifeways that they produce in varying forms, from site reports to popular nonfiction works?
If only these books were more affordable! WWU 1991, UAF 2000, working archaeological consultant in Alaska

This book was impossible to read, full of a PH. D's arrogant use of extensive and irrelavent vocabulary. He spent so much time trying to sound intelligent that any information gleaned from this text is dilutted to nothingness.

i reiterate, do not buy this book, it is a waste of money and time.