Abstract
We examine how hunter-gatherers are imagined in popular debate in Britain and Ireland, demonstrating that aspects of huntergatherer lifestyles are presented as both the antithesis and antidote to perceived crises in contemporary society. We apply an anthropological lens to four areas of popular discourse: physical health, mental health, bushcraft, and survivalism. We identify how the imagined hunter-gatherer in these debates is constructed through processes of commodification that often reveal nostalgic colonial values regarding “human nature.” This repeats and sustains damaging perceptions of hunter-gatherer lifeways. It also highlights how archaeological, anthropological, and other academic research on hunter-gatherers is manifest in popular debates that reinforce assumptions about human nature and the significance of our evolutionary past within a neoliberal, colonialist context.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 72-99 |
Number of pages | 28 |
Journal | Current Anthropology |
Volume | 65 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2024 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024, University of Chicago Press. All rights reserved.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Archaeology
- Anthropology
- Archaeology