Hunter/Gatherer Diets in an Arid

Hunter/Gatherer Diets in an Arid Ecosystem

Analyzing the Diets of Hunter/Gatherers in an Arid Ecosystem

Humans have survived by learning to adapt to extreme environments. Their ability to survive depends on the ability to adapt to changing conditions and changing food supplies. Humans have been resourceful in their ability to secure their basic needs. Survival in a dessert is one of the most challenging environments that humans attempt to tolerate. The key challenge in an arid ecosystem is the limited food supply available. The following will explore considerations in an archeological analysis of how a hunter-gatherer society might survive in such a climate.

Bushmen of the Kalahari

Archeologists spend much time conjecturing about how a certain group of people survived in a particular area. Often, the only clues they have are in the artifacts, or if they are lucky, an intact body. However, it is easy to forget that we have a valuable resource in our search for the hunter-gatherer "secrets" of how to survive in an inhospitable climate. The San, otherwise known as the Basarwa people, live in the Kalahari desert. The Kalahari is a vast desert that stretches over South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia. The San are often referred to as the "Bushmen" of the Kalahari.

For many years, little was know about their lifestyle. However, this tribe has remained primarily isolated until only recently. The San are thought to be the oldest surviving culture in the world (Warder, "Tribes of the Kalahari/Kgalagadi," n.d.). Their traditional lifestyle dates back over one hundred thousand years. By studying their traditional lifestyle, we can gain a glimpse into the world of other primitive hunter-gatherer societies and how they may have survived.

History of the San

Primitive rock art in the Kalahari desert demonstrates that the San have lived in the same area as a hunter-gatherer society from earliest times. Their art can be seen throughout Southern Africa, indicating that their territory was once more vast than it is today. Only in the past 2000 years were the San pushed to inhabit the small area that they now claim. Their numbers were greatly reduced and their area pushed back by wars with neighboring Bantu tribes. Even more recently, white farmers took more fertile land for themselves, their crops, and their livestock. Today, there are only about 3000 San that still follow a completely traditional lifestyle of hunting and gathering. There is evidence that the population used to number 95,000 (Warder, "Tribes of the Kalahari/Kgalagadi," n.d.).

Traditional San Culture

One of the most beautiful aspects of the traditional San of today is that sociologists and archeologists can test their hypotheses by observing the traditional culture that still exists within this group. One can observe a working hunter-gatherer society that has chosen to retain their traditional lifestyle. Today, traditional Sans groups live in bands of approximately 10-15 people (Warder, "Tribes of the Kalahari/Kgalagadi," n.d.). It may be that these bands were larger in former days. However, these small bands move around frequently in search of food to gather and water resources. They follow migrating game and food cycles related to the seasons.

The San do not build permanent dwellings, but rather live in temporary shelters built from branches. The branches are tied together with grass tufts on top. The band is made of closely related family members. There is no official leader, or chief. Like many more primitive groups, hunting is typically an activity shared by a group of men. Women typically are responsible for gathering activities (Warder, "Tribes of the Kalahari/Kgalagadi," n.d.). Meat is shared among the group. The men use bows and arrows tipped with poison to bring down game. Hunting is a big social event. Gathering is less of a social activity, but accounts for close to 80% of the food supply (Cordain et al., 2000).

The San have no sense of private ownership of resources (Warder, "Tribes of the Kalahari/Kgalagadi," n.d.). The idea of claiming land is a foreign concept. They believe that the resources are for the benefit of everyone and defend their traditional ways. With no tribal leadership, it is difficult to air grievances. The San traditional lifestyle is being threatened, as society attempts to educate them, provide them with modern amenities, and force them into a modern lifestyle. This is perhaps one of the last chances to observe a traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle before it disappears completely.

Analyzing Diets from an Archeological Perspective

The purpose of this research is to explore the techniques used for survival in an arid climate. It has been determined that the San diet consists of approximately 80% plant material and 20% animal material. The specifics of the diet would depend on the exact area and location in which the tribe dwells. There are many factors that influence the nutritional content of the people of a particular area. For instance, one must consider that the nutritional content of an animal depends on its food source.

Variations in weather and soil content can effect the nutritional qualities of a food source. These principles would apply to study of any group of people in a specific region. For instance, a sugar beet varies in sugar content based on the nutrients found in the local soil of an area. Therefore, in order to make generalizations about the diet and nutrition of a particular group of people, one would first have to look at the nutritional content of various levels of the food chain. They would then have to estimate the proportions of animals in the diet to various plants that are available in the area.

The study of historical diets is further complicated by the fact that soil and weather in a particular area changes over time. One could not look at modern flora and fauna as the basis for assumptions about the diet of a primitive people that inhabited the area. Even with a modern hunter/gatherer society, one must assume that the diet of the San today is different from that of their ancient ancestors. The ecological dynamics of the area have changed, particularly as the pressures of modern society creep in. It is wrong to assume that we can look at a modern desert area and make assumptions about the diets and lifestyles of people that lived in the area thousands of years ago. One must look at the surrounding archeological evidence of the plants and animals the existed at the time the inhabitants occupied the area.

Conducting an Assessment of the Primitive Diet

The first thing that one will notice about the San is that their nomadic lifestyle means that they have few personal possessions. They carry everything they own on their back (Warder, "Tribes of the Kalahari/Kgalagadi," n.d.). Food must be procured from the area surrounding them. They have no refrigeration of method of preserving foods, therefore food must be gathered fresh. This means that gathering and hunting activities would have to be carried out on a regular basis. These activities are necessary for proving the necessary food for the tribe. However, before one can embark on such activities, a certain level of nutrition is required. It takes energy to make energy in this case. The San must contribute a large amount of their time to hunting and gathering activities. When food is scarce, it can take even more energy to procure nourishment. These principles would stand be the same for the analysis of any hunter/gatherer culture. The amount of energy needed to procure food is highly dependent upon the availability of food in the area.

The next assessment that one must make is which animals were/are abundant in the area. Although the Kalahari desert is a harsh landscape, there is still an abundance of animal life. Many animals have adapted to, and thrive in the harsh environment. An area that is inhospitable to humans, is not necessarily inhospitable to animal life. The five most abundant animals in the Kalahari region are the gemsbok, Kalahari desert lion, springbok, eland and cheetah (Warder, "Animals in the Kalahari Desert," n.d.). There are other animals in the region including the pangolin, gnu, hyena, leopard, jackal, meerkat, anteater, tortoise, wolf and porcupine (Warder, "Animals in the Kalahari Desert," n.d.). In the past there were Kalahari elephants.

The first thing that one will notice about this animal list is that There are a high number of predators. This indicates that there must be enough food to sustain them. The Kalahari is filled with grazers that provide prey for animal predators and man alike. The Springbok and Eland are favorites of the San (Warder, "Animals in the Kalahari Desert," n.d.). Predators, such as the Kalahari lion and the Cheetah represent competition for the local hunter/gathers. However, in the past, there was plenty for all to share.

Now we know that the Springbok and Eland account for approximately 20% of the diet of the San. It is unlikely that they ate predators due to the difficulty and danger in obtaining them. The Eland and Springbok are the more likely dietary candidates. We can now take a look at the plants that the prey animals and humans were likely to encounter in the Kalahari desert. Much of the Kalahari is sand. Therefore, the plants available had to be adaptable to a sandy environment (Warder, "Plants in the Kalahari Desert," n.d.).

The variety of species in the Kalahari desert is relatively poor, compared to other surrounding areas, such as Cape Macchia (Warder, "Plants in the Kalahari Desert," n.d.). There are few above ground plants, such as succulents. Shifting sands make growing in this climate difficult. Plants must be able to establish extremely deep roots in order to survive. For instance, the Camel thorn can have roots up to 40 meters deep and can exploit deep water sources that are inaccessible to other species (Warder, "Plants in the Kalahari Desert," n.d.). However, although this plant has adapted will to the climate, this is still no guarantee that the locals can use it as a food. Many plants of the Kalahari are available in tree and shrub form. However, this is largely a result of animal grazing, rather than species differentiation. Another strategy used by Kalahari plants is the use of a short life cycle. The Devil Thorn completes its entire life cycle from seed germination to seed formation in two weeks.

The wood of the Camel tree is preferred by the Sans for barbeque fires and for warmth (Warder, "Plants in the Kalahari Desert," n.d.). The pods of the Camel Tree make excellent survival rations for animals of the Kalahari (Warder, "Plants in the Kalahari Desert," n.d.). The Shephard tree is another tree of the Kalahari that provides food for the Sans and the desert animals upon which they prey. The fruit is eaten raw or used as a jam. The are used for a coffee substitute and boiled to produce a sweet syrup, or dried and ground into flour. All parts of the plant are used as a medicine or as food (Warder, "Plants in the Kalahari Desert," n.d.).

The Brosdoring is a perennial evergreen shrub that is not consumed by humans, but is consumed by grazers (Warder, "Plants in the Kalahari Desert," n.d.). The Devil's Thorn is another plant that is used by grazers, but not by humans (Warder, "Plants in the Kalahari Desert," n.d.).The Kalahari desert melon is perhaps the single plant responsible for maintaining life in the desert. It is similar to the water melon and is cultivated in drought years (Warder, "Plants in the Kalahari Desert," n.d.). The fruit can remain fresh for up to two years. The fresh fruit provides a source of water (Warder, "Plants in the Kalahari Desert," n.d.). It might be noted that there are no native cactii in the Kalahari desert. Any that are there now have been introduced (Warder, "Plants in the Kalahari Desert," n.d.).

The climate of the Kalahari is the determining factor for all life. Rainfall of the Kalahari occurs in small local patches and can dip below 100 mm annually. The Sans of the Kalahari have survived by following the rainfall and the abundance that it brings. As the herds of grazer move, so do the Sans in order to find plants and animals to sustain them.

Now we have a laundry list of animals and plants that the nomads of the Kalahari use to sustain themselves. Our original quest was to analyze the diet and nutritional content of the Sans. When one looks at the list of available plants and animals, one thing becomes apparent from a nutritional point-of-view. There may be plenty of food, but it is not a very diverse diet. Protein is derived from essentially two primary animals and food from three plants. Fortunately, one of them is a citrus fruit, which may make up vitamin C needs. However, from a nutritionist's lens, the diet of the Sans is lacking in many ways.

We can now look at the individual plant and animal foods, as well as the ratios in which they are consumed to surmise a probable nutritional content for the Bushmen of the Kalahari desert. Fascination with a recent trendy diet craze based on primitive foods has resulted in an abundance of information on the nutritional content of the diets of primitive tribes. The Sans is one of the most studied of modern primitive tribes. Their diet consists of both raw and cooked foods. The following table represents their average dietary consumption.