Tuesday May 20 18:30 London time
ZOOM only with #VivekVenkataraman
'The Meaning and Dividends of Man the Hunter'
Please join on ZOOM ID 384 186 2174 passcode Wawilak
Vivek writes: 'The phrase Man the Hunter is associated with sexist theories of human evolution, but wildly disparate use of the phrase has led to unnecessary scientific disagreement and popular misunderstanding. In this talk, which follows a recently posted collaborative paper with other hunter-gatherer scholars, I ask: what does Man the Hunter mean? I distinguish three historical meanings of Man the Hunter; first, the 1966 conference; second, popularized sexist theories of human origins; and third, the human behavioral ecology of hunter-gatherers. I then trace the historical development of these three meanings of Man the Hunter, situating their origins in evolutionary biology, ethnology, feminist studies, ethology, genetics, and other disciplines. This allows us to ask: how are these meanings connected intellectually? After presenting a surprising answer to this question, I conclude by offering suggestions for improving scientific and popular discourse regarding Man the Hunter.'
Vivek is a biological anthropologist who employs evolutionary approaches to the study of foraging behavior, energetics, and health. He earned his PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Dartmouth College and conducted postdoctoral work at Harvard University and the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse. He is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Calgary. His present research focuses in Malaysia, where he is one of the Principal Investigators of the Orang Asli Health and Lifeways Project (OA HeLP), which studies the rise of chronic non-infectious diseases over time due to rapidly changing environments. He is co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Hunter Gatherer Research.
