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6 - Biomechanics, Habitual Activity, and Resilience among Southern African Hunter-Gatherers and Herders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2018

By
Michelle E. Cameron  and
Jay Stock
Edited by
Daniel H. Temple  and
Christopher M. Stojanowski
Daniel H. Temple
Affiliation:
George Mason University, Virginia
Christopher M. Stojanowski
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
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Summary

This chapter considers changes in long bone biomechanical properties as an indicator of habitual activity patterns among coastal and interior Late Stone Age hunter-gatherers of southern Africa with the introduction of herding. Results indicate little variation in upper and lower limb biomechanical properties of pre- and post-herding populations, suggesting that physical behaviors associated with hunting and gathering were unchanged after the introduction of herding. This, despite isotopic and zooarchaeological evidence reflecting some changes in subsistence practices and resource consumption patterns coincident with the appearance of domesticated livestock. Therefore, in the southern African Late Stone Age, dietary changes may have occurred as populations incorporated domesticated livestock yet maintained hunter-gatherer activities to supplement these diets with wild game and plant resources. This reflects a resilient pattern of biocultural adaptation wherein new subsistence products wee absorbed into an existing social framework without restructuring the core identity of the hunter-gatherer populations.
Type
Chapter
Information
Hunter-Gatherer Adaptation and Resilience
A Bioarchaeological Perspective
 , pp. 110 - 140
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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