<p>What was life like before farming? Was it nasty, brutish, and short? Or did our hunter-gatherer ancestors live lives that were relatively free, affluent, and ecologically stable?</p><p>In the lack of a time machine, many anthropologists have sought answers from studying the few hunter-gatherer communities that still exist today. In 1966, several leading names in the field were invited to present their results at a symposium at the University of Chicago. This “Man the Hunter” conference became a landmark event, but what exactly were the results? And have they stood the test of time? </p><p>To mark the 60th anniversary of the &quot;Man the Hunter&quot;<em> </em>symposium, <em>On Humans </em>is glad to share the first-ever long-form podcast with the legendary anthropologist and co-organiser of the symposium, Richard B. Lee. We discuss the legacy of the conference, Lee’s own experiences living with hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari, and his reflections on what we do and do not know about the ancient lifeways of hunter-gatherers. As we do so, we also discuss various controversies and mysteries, from women&#39;s roles to Native American farmers, and from archaeological black holes to<em>The Dawn of Everything.</em></p><p>Enjoy!</p><p><br></p><p><strong>FACT-CHECKING</strong></p><p>No factual errors have been detected so far. If you see an error, you can get in touch using the form below.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>LINKS</strong></p><p>Support: <a href="Patreon.com/OnHumans" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></p><p>Get in touch: <a href="https://forms.gle/h5wcmefuwvD6asos8" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://forms.gle/h5wcmefuwvD6asos8⁠⁠⁠</a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>MENTIONS</strong></p><p>The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race (Jared Diamond) <a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-worst-mistake-in-the-history-of-the-human-race-12157" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-worst-mistake-in-the-history-of-the-human-race-12157</a></p><p>The Original Affluent Society (Marshall Sahlins) <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/~jdericks/EE/Sahlins-Original_Affluent_Society.pdf" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.uvm.edu/~jdericks/EE/Sahlins-Original_Affluent_Society.pdf</a></p><p>For my previous coverage on “woman the hunter” controversies, see “Is Man the Hunter Dead” and my interviews with Cara Ocobock and Katie Starkweather, all available here: <a href="https://onhumans.substack.com/p/is-man-the-hunter-dead" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠https://onhumans.substack.com/p/is-man-the-hunter-dead⁠</a></p><p>For Richard Lee&#39;s own comments on the controversy, see his interview with Vivek Venkataraman <a href="https://osf.io/x7ar3_v1/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠https://osf.io/x7ar3_v1/</a></p><p>Names: Richard B. Lee | James Suzman | Marshall Sahlins | David Graeber | David Wengrow | Jared Diamond | Sarah Blaffer Hrdy | Jerome Lewis | Colin Turnbull | James Woodburn | Eleanor Leacock | Louis Henry Morgan | Karl Marx | George Armelagos | Irvin DeVore | Sherwood Washburn | Jay Desmond Clark | Harriet Rosenberg | Lawrence K. Marshall | Elizabeth Marshall | John Marshall | Greta Thunberg | Vivek Venkataraman</p><p>Ethnic groups: San | Ju/’hoansi | !Kung | Khoisan | Khoikhoi | “Bushmen” | “Hottentots” | First Nations | Tlingit | Haida | Inuit | Australian Aboriginal peoples | Bayaka| Batek | Huron-Wendat | Iroquois | Six Nations | Plains Indians | Hopi | Navajo | Cherokee</p><p><strong>KEY WORDS</strong></p><p>anthropology | archaeology | ethnography | human origins | human behavioural ecology | hunter-gatherers | paleolithic | neolithic transition | original affluent society | Kalahari Desert | Botswana | Namibia | paleogenetics | gathering vs hunting | gender roles | women hunting | egalitarianism | origins of hierarchy | surplus | food storage | salmon economies | Northwest Coast hunter-gatherers | archaeology of early farmers | bioarchaeology | stature/height decline | teeth health | disease burden | zoonoses | cross-species infection | Neolithic fertility increase | population pressure and “intensification” | chiefdoms | states | empires | ecology vs culture debate | materialist vs idealist | concentration–dispersion | colonialism | exploitation | land rights | climate change | human futures</p>