The First Society: An Introduction to Hunter-Gatherers

WARNING: This video is about analytical methods in archaeology. It is also introductory, so broad generalizations are necessary to introduce these concepts. Exceptions exist.

This is effectively a summary with commentary of a paper by Peter Rowley-Conwy explaining the problems with common perceptions of hunter-gatherers and unilineal cultural evolutionary theory.

Further Reading:
Rowley–Conwy, Peter A. 2001 Time, Change and the Archaeology of Hunter–Gatherers: How Original is the 'Original Affluent Society'? In Hunter–Gatherers: An Interdisciplinary Perspective, edited by Catherine Panter-Brick, Robert H. Layton, and Peter Rowley-Conwy, pp. 39–72. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.


Binford, Lewis R.
1980 Willow Smoke and Dogs' Tails: Hunter-Gatherer Settlement Systems and Archaeological
Site Formation. American Antiquity 45:1–17.