Open AccessMortality in Traditional Hunter-Gatherer, Pastoralist and Agriculturalist Communities: The Validity of Longevity Studies Based on Mobility and Subsistence Strategies
Author(s) -
Barbara R. Hewitt
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of anthropology at mcmaster
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0707-3771
DOI - 10.15173/nexus.v16i1.183
Subject(s) - subsistence agriculture , life expectancy , comparability , longevity , pastoralism , hunter gatherer , geography , demography , gerontology , sociology , medicine , agriculture , livestock , archaeology , population , mathematics , combinatorics , forestry
This paper will address the observable discrepancies in the mortality of populations who use differing subsistence strategies, and determine if subsistence patterns and/or mobility are reliable variables to consider in longevity and morality studies. Through an analysis of the data presented by a number of different authors on average life expectancy of highly mobile hunter-gatherer groups, semi-nomadic pastoralists and horticulturalists, and sedentary agriculturalists, a comparison of life spans across subsistence and mobility patterns should be possible. The soundness of studies based on these variables will be assessed, as will comparability or such studies.