AIU Anthropology: Contemporary Hunter-Gatherer Societies Report

This report provides an overview of contemporary hunter-gatherer societies, focusing on the Sentinelese of the Andaman Islands and the Pirahã people of the Amazon. It examines their views on land rights, property rights, and conservationist ethics, drawing on research by Ember, Apicella, and others. The report highlights the importance of these factors for the survival of hunter-gatherer communities and contrasts their social structures with other forms of societies. It also notes the significance of individual property rights and common property requisites in these groups. The conclusion emphasizes the role of labor and property rights in hunter-gatherer societies and the propensity for domestic conflict in groups with high reliance on fishing. The report provides valuable insights into the unique characteristics and challenges faced by these communities.

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Name
American InterContinental
University
Class, Section

Contemporary Examples of
Hunter-Gatherer Societies
Sentinelese of the Andaman Islands
 The Sentinelese is identified as one of the
prominent examples of modern human gatherer
communities.
 They typically have their abode on the Andaman
Islands in the Bay of Bengal between India and
the west of Burma.
 Reports of Ember (2014) have revealed that there
are around 40 members in the tribe comprising
around 21 males and 19 females.

Contemporary Examples
of Hunter-Gatherer
SocietiesPirahã of the Maici River in the Amazon
 Another important example of existing hunter
gatherer community is the Piraha people who
primarily dwell on the banks of the Amazon river
(Schnorr et al. 2014).
 According to Apicella et al. (2014), Pirahã are
enormously competent to ensure their sustained
endurance in the forest and have great awareness
of the efficacy and site of all essential vegetation
in their area.

Views of Land Rights
 The Pirahas throughout the world have been
increasingly distinguishing the value of land rights
as their primary means for survival (Ember 2014).
 These hunter gatherers have identified their
nations and land authorities along with the
premise of ethnic pluralism.

Views of Property Rights
 Apicella et al. (2014) have stated that regardless
of hunter gatherers possession of individual rights
to personal property, no property rights frequently
exist in the natural resources which the
community exploits.
 With every few individuals and profuse natural
resources, formulating property possessions in
those resources defers no significant gains
(Schnorr et al. 2014).

Evidence of Conservationist
Ethic  Individual property
privileges seem to have
emerged earlier than
agriculture, as it showed
high criticality in distinctly
identifying ownership
(Ember 2014).

Evidence of
Conservationist Ethic
 Such a common property requisites probably has
succeeded through few exceptions in anticipation
of the progress of agriculture around ten thousand
years ago.
 Ethnographic study has revealed significant as
well as changeable shifts in dwelling patterns,
with male and female dispersion to other
groupings (Apicella et al. 2014).
 Different models of abode however have
proposed that group settlements have the
propensity to incline towards non-kin associations
(Schnorr et al. 2014).

Evidence of
Conservationist Ethic
 Numerous unaffiliated males
connecting groups associated by
means of the equivalent female
have the tendency to encounter
declined conflicts, open cross
assembly visitation, along with
overall augmented interface
between unrelated parties
(Apicella et al. 2014).

Conclusion
 Hence to conclude, among hunter gatherer groups in
comparison to other forms of societies, labour and property
rights predict utmost authorities.
 Hunter-gatherers possessing high reliance on fishing have
high propensity to have domestic struggle than external
conflict.

References
 Apicella, C.L., Azevedo, E.M., Christakis, N.A. and Fowler, J.H.,
2014. Evolutionary origins of the endowment effect: Evidence
from hunter-gatherers. American Economic Review, 104(6),
pp.1793-1805.
 Ember, C.R., 2014. Hunter-Gatherers (Foragers).
 Schnorr, S.L., Candela, M., Rampelli, S., Centanni, M.,
Consolandi, C., Basaglia, G., Turroni, S., Biagi, E., Peano, C.,
Severgnini, M. and Fiori, J., 2014. Gut microbiome of the
Hadza hunter-gatherers. Nature communications, 5, p.3654.