What is a hunter-gatherer? Variation in the archaeological record of Eastern and Southern Africa

Abstract

This article reviews the recent history of the archaeology of African hunter-gatherers, focusing on debates around the origins of modern humans and the destiny of hunter-gatherers with the advent of food production. African archaeologists are developing an increasing appreciation for the diversity of African hunter-gatherer societies. Understandings of hunter-gatherers based primarily on ethnography are being successfully challenged and extended. © Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2005.