Hunter-gatherer Children Research Articles

Autonomous hunter-gatherer children in hierarchical schools: a review of the literature from the global South

We recently conducted a review of the literature regarding hunter-gatherer children’s schooling experiences in the global South (Ninkova et al 2024). In this research note, we highlight one central finding of our review: that the autonomy granted to hunter-gatherer children determines their participation in school. Children decide for themselves whether they will attend. Children also decide for themselves whether they will pursue alternative endeavours such as subsistence activities or play. When children do attend school, autonomous behaviour is generally not tolerated within the hierarchical classroom structure. Hunter-gatherer children are often reprimanded or punished when they fail to observe hierarchical rules, leading them to drop out. An important conclusion of our review is that if the global development priority of universal education is to be realised, the focus must be on local needs rather than broad global solutions. For hunter-gatherer children, local needs involve designing schools which reflect and respect hunter-gatherer autonomy.

Hunter-Gatherer Children at School: A View From the Global South

Universal formal education is a major global development goal. Yet hunter-gatherer communities have extremely low participation rates in formal schooling, even in comparison with other marginalized groups. Here, we review the existing literature to identify common challenges faced by hunter-gatherer children in formal education systems in the Global South. We find that hunter-gatherer children are often granted extensive personal autonomy, which is at odds with the hierarchical culture of school. Hunter-gatherer children face economic, infrastructural, social, cultural, and structural barriers that negatively affect their school participation. While schools have been identified as a risk to the transmission of hunter-gatherer values, languages, and traditional knowledge, they are also viewed by hunter-gatherer communities as a source of economic and cultural empowerment. These observations highlight the need for hunter-gatherer communities to decide for themselves the purpose school serves, and whether children should be compelled to attend.

Hunter-Gatherer children's close-proximity networks: Similarities and differences with cooperative and communal breeding systems.

Among vertebrates, allomothering (non-maternal care) is classified as cooperative breeding (help from sexually mature non-breeders, usually close relatives) or communal breeding (shared care between multiple breeders who are not necessarily related). Humans have been described with both labels, most frequently as cooperative breeders. However, few studies have quantified the relative contributions of allomothers according to whether they are (a) sexually mature and reproductively active and (b) related or unrelated. We constructed close-proximity networks of Agta and BaYaka hunter-gatherers. We used portable remote-sensing devices to quantify the proportion of time children under the age of 4 spent in close proximity to different categories of potential allomother. Both related and unrelated, and reproductively active and inactive, campmates had substantial involvement in children's close-proximity networks. Unrelated campmates, siblings and subadults were the most involved in both populations, whereas the involvement of fathers and grandmothers was the most variable between the two populations. Finally, the involvement of sexually mature, reproductively inactive adults was low. Where possible, we compared our findings with studies of other hunter-gatherer societies, and observed numerous consistent trends. Based on our results we discuss why hunter-gatherer allomothering cannot be fully characterised as cooperative or communal breeding.

Cooperation and partner choice among Agta hunter-gatherer children: An evolutionary developmental perspective.

Examining development is essential for a full understanding of behaviour, including how individuals acquire traits and how adaptive evolutionary forces shape these processes. The present study explores the development of cooperative behaviour among the Agta, a Filipino hunter-gatherer population. A simple resource allocation game assessing both levels of cooperation (how much children shared) and patterns of partner choice (who they shared with) was played with 179 children between the ages of 3 and 18. Children were given five resources (candies) and for each was asked whether to keep it for themselves or share with someone else, and if so, who this was. Between-camp variation in children's cooperative behaviour was substantial, and the only strong predictor of children's cooperation was the average level of cooperation among adults in camp; that is, children were more cooperative in camps where adults were more cooperative. Neither age, sex, relatedness or parental levels of cooperation were strongly associated with the amount children shared. Children preferentially shared with close kin (especially siblings), although older children increasingly shared with less-related individuals. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding cross-cultural patterns of children's cooperation, and broader links with human cooperative childcare and life history evolution.

DHEAS and nutritional status among Sidama, Ngandu, and Aka children: Effects of cortisol and implications for adrenarche.

Adrenarche, the biological event marked by rising production of dehydroepiandrosterone and its sulfate (DHEAS), may represent a sensitive period in child development, with important implications for adolescence and beyond. Nutritional status, particularly BMI and/or adiposity, has long been hypothesized as a factor in DHEAS production but findings are inconsistent, and few studies have examined this among non-industrialized societies. In addition, cortisol has not been included in these models. We here evaluate effects of height- (HAZ), weight- (WAZ), and BMI- (BMIZ) for-age on DHEAS concentrations among Sidama agropastoralist, Ngandu horticulturalist, and Aka hunter-gatherer children. Heights and weights were collected from 206 children aged 2-18 years old. HAZ, WAZ, and BMIZ were calculated using CDC standards. DHEAS and cortisol assays were used to determine biomarker concentrations in hair. Generalized linear modeling was used to examine effects of nutritional status on DHEAS concentrations, as well as cortisol, controlling for age, sex, and population. Despite the prevalence of low HAZ and WAZ scores, the majority (77%) of children had BMI z-scores >-2.0 SD. Nutritional status has no significant effect on DHEAS concentrations, controlling for age, sex, and population. Cortisol, however, is a significant predictor of DHEAS concentrations. Our findings do not support a relationship between nutritional status and DHEAS. Instead, results suggest an important role for stress and ecology in DHEAS concentrations across childhood. Specifically, effects of environment via cortisol may be influential to patterning of DHEAS. Future work should investigate local ecological stressors and their relationship to adrenarche.

Toys as Teachers: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Object Use and Enskillment in Hunter–Gatherer Societies

Studies of cultural transmission—whether approached by archaeological or ethnographic means—have made great strides in identifying formal teaching and learning arrangements, which in turn can be closely aligned with models of social learning. While novices and apprentices are often in focus in such studies, younger children and their engagement with material culture have received less attention. Against the backdrop of a cross-cultural database of ethnographically documented object use and play in 54 globally distributed foraging communities, we here discuss the ways in which children make and use tools and toys. We provide a cross-cultural inventory of objects made for and by hunter–gatherer children and adolescents. We find that child and adolescent objects are linked to adult material culture, albeit not exclusively so. Toys and tools were primarily handled outside of explicit pedagogical contexts, and there is little evidence for formalised apprenticeships. Our data suggests that children’s self-directed interactions with objects, especially during play, has a critical role in early-age enskillment. Placed within a niche construction framework, we combine ethnographic perspectives on object play with archaeological evidence for play objects to offer an improved cross-cultural frame of reference for how social learning varies across early human life history and what role material culture may play in this process. While our analysis improves the systematic understanding of the role and relevance of play objects among hunter–gatherer societies, we also make the case for more detailed studies of play objects in the context of ethnographic, archival and archaeological cultural transmission research.

Hunter-Gatherer Children's Object Play and Tool Use: An Ethnohistorical Analysis.

Learning to use, make, and modify tools is key to our species’ success. Researchers have hypothesized that play with objects may have a foundational role in the ontogeny of tool use and, over evolutionary timescales, in cumulative technological innovation. Yet, there are few systematic studies investigating children’s interactions with objects outside the post-industrialized West. Here, we survey the ethnohistorical record to uncover cross-cultural trends regarding hunter-gatherer children’s use of objects during play and instrumental activities. Our dataset, consisting of 434 observations of children’s toys and tools from 54 hunter-gatherer societies, reveals several salient trends: Most objects in our dataset are used in play. Children readily manufacture their own toys, such as dolls and shelters. Most of the objects that children interact with are constructed from multiple materials. Most of the objects in our dataset are full-sized or miniature versions of adult tools, reflecting learning for adult roles. Children also engage with objects related to child culture, primarily during play. Taken together, our findings show that hunter-gatherer children grow up playing, making, and learning with objects.

A view from the ground: using participatory photography with hunter-gatherer children (Peru)

This article explores the use of participatory photography in ethnographic research with hunter-gatherer children. Drawing on my fieldwork in Peruvian Amazonia, I examine on how participatory photography can help researchers of childhood to move beyond the notion of child voice and explore non-verbal realms of knowledge from a child-centred perspective. While acknowledging the drawbacks and limits of child-centred visual methods, I will focus primarily on the advantages of using methodologies that can highly stimulate children’s enthusiasm and participation in the research process, allowing the researchers to move away from an adult-centric research approach.

‘You all go to check there’

Previous studies of children’s directive use in peer interaction have paid attention to practices related to hierarchical relationships. This study demonstrates egalitarian directive use by Baka hunter–gatherer children engaged in giant rat hunting as a group activity. Self-selection and ‘you all do’ construction were identified as the ways they proceeded with this activity. These two egalitarian directives were not limited to specific persons with authority or power; rather, the children interacted with each other on an equal footing using these forms. Trajectories of action described the difficulties of being in an authoritative position in during activity. This study identified alternative ways to construct equal footing in children’s group activities.

Development of social learning and play in BaYaka hunter-gatherers of Congo

High-fidelity transmission of information through imitation and teaching has been proposed as necessary for cumulative cultural evolution. Yet, it is unclear when and for which knowledge domains children employ different social learning processes. This paper explores the development of social learning processes and play in BaYaka hunter-gatherer children by analysing video recordings and time budgets of children from early infancy to adolescence. From infancy to early childhood, hunter-gatherer children learn mainly by imitating and observing others’ activities. From early childhood, learning occurs mainly in playgroups and through practice. Throughout childhood boys engage in play more often than girls whereas girls start foraging wild plants from early childhood and spend more time in domestic activities and childcare. Sex differences in play reflect the emergence of sexual division of labour and the play-work transition occurring earlier for girls. Consistent with theoretical models, teaching occurs for skills/knowledge that cannot be transmitted with high fidelity through other social learning processes such as the acquisition of abstract information e.g. social norms. Whereas, observational and imitative learning occur for the transmission of visually transparent skills such as tool use, foraging, and cooking. These results suggest that coevolutionary relationships between human sociality, language and teaching have likely been fundamental in the emergence of human cumulative culture.

Exploring culture-based learning for Moken hunter-gatherer children

Despite numerous education readjustments by the government, efforts for equal opportunity in education and an increase in present enrolment, many indigenous children in Thailand continue to face serious obstacles in the formal education system. This study focuses on the Moken hunter-gatherer communities in southern Thailand and seeks to analyse and understand the situation of Moken children and the shortcomings of the formal education system within their context. Traditional ways of knowing, especially knowing through nature and through play, are used as a platform to rethink the way we look at indigenous children’s education in Thailand. This paper identifies alternate approaches to sustainable and inclusive education for Moken children in the Thai education context. Traditional practices of knowledge transmission based around play and self-directed learning are looked at to help bridge the gap between Moken learners and the formal education system in order to contextualise and make relevant the curriculum that is taught. While this study only focuses on the Moken, findings and conclusions may be drawn to encompass a larger scope in terms of implications for other indigenous learners in Thailand.

Is It Ritual? Or Is It Children? Distinguishing Consequences of Play from Ritual Actions in the Prehistoric Archaeological Record

This paper identifies a significant interpretive issue for prehistoric archaeology: distinguishing adult ritual actions from the activities of children in the archaeological record. Through examining ethnographic accounts of recent hunter-gatherer children and reconsidering archaeological patterns and assemblages in light of these data, we explore how the results of children’s play can be—and likely have been—misinterpreted by archaeologists as evidence for adult ritual behavior in prehistoric contexts. Given that children were a significant component of past hunter-gatherer (and other) societies, the fact that the material components of their activities overlap tremendously with items used in adult rituals must be routinely considered by archaeologists if we are to reconstruct robust understandings of past peoples all over the globe.

How Do Hunter-Gatherer Children Learn Subsistence Skills?

Hunting and gathering is, evolutionarily, the defining subsistence strategy of our species. Studying how children learn foraging skills can, therefore, provide us with key data to test theories about the evolution of human life history, cognition, and social behavior. Modern foragers, with their vast cultural and environmental diversity, have mostly been studied individually. However, cross-cultural studies allow us to extrapolate forager-wide trends in how, when, and from whom hunter-gatherer children learn their subsistence skills. We perform a meta-ethnography, which allows us to systematically extract, summarize, and compare both quantitative and qualitative literature. We found 58 publications focusing on learning subsistence skills. Learning begins early in infancy, when parents take children on foraging expeditions and give them toy versions of tools. In early and middle childhood, children transition into the multi-age playgroup, where they learn skills through play, observation, and participation. By the end of middle childhood, most children are proficient food collectors. However, it is not until adolescence that adults (not necessarily parents) begin directly teaching children complex skills such as hunting and complex tool manufacture. Adolescents seek to learn innovations from adults, but they themselves do not innovate. These findings support predictive models that find social learning should occur before individual learning. Furthermore, these results show that teaching does indeed exist in hunter-gatherer societies. And, finally, though children are competent foragers by late childhood, learning to extract more complex resources, such as hunting large game, takes a lifetime.

Growing up in a changing world. A case study among Baka children (southeastern Cameroon)

While many studies have explored the impacts of the multiple pressures faced by small-scale societies on adult livelihoods and on the maintenance of their cultural knowledge, few have focused on the way hunter-gatherer children are living in this changing context. This study aims to assess how children are both affected by and involved in this process of change, and evaluate how the different changes might impact children's daily life and cultural learning. By working among the Baka, a small-scale society from the Congo Basin who have been facing several changes for more than 50 years, I analyze Baka children's daily life and perception toward their own culture and their expectation toward their future. The results of this work show that children's daily life and perceptions are intimately related to their expectations toward adulthood. These results are discussed on the light of the specificity of Baka childhood and the influence of general trends conveyed by external actors on Baka perceptions.

Children’s ethnobiological knowledge: an introduction

By the turn of the 21st century, several anthropologists have insistently been denouncing a global disinterest for anthropology of child (see for instance Corsaro 2003; Friedl 2004; Gottlieb 2000; Hirschfeld 2002; Panther-Brick & Smith 2000). Since then, and especially over the past decade, anthropological research pertaining to children and childhood has made significant progress (Lancy 2008, 2012; Lancy et al. 2010; Montgomery 2009; Qvortrup et al. 2011). Anthropology of child is even becoming a trendy domain of research that is now investigated by a growing number of disciplines, including archaeology1. The birth of AnthropoChildren journal in 2012 is one of the most salient expressions of this renewed interest, pursuing the work of many pioneer scholars – Langness 1975 and Whiting 1963 to name a few – who, following the pathway opened by M. Mead (1930), have prominently contributed to set up the foundations of this multilayered discipline. Nevertheless, research efforts are not equally conducted between developed and developing countries and studies dedicated to children among the most nature-dependent peoples have for long remained marginal. Earliest concerns about hunter-gatherer children have principally focused on childrearing and socialization practices (Jelliffe et al. 1962; Draper 1976; Guemple 1979; Konner 1976) until the outstanding works carried out by B. Hewlett in the 1990s and pursued with his collaborators (A.H. Boyette, S.J. Dira, C.L. Meehan, C. Roulette a

Evolutionary Cultural Anthropology

In this paper I outline an integrated framework for the study of culture, called evolutionary cultural anthropology, that highlights culture and its interactions with biology and ecology. Applied research during Ebola outbreaks and several decades of research with hunter-gatherer children of the Congo Basin are utilized to illustrate evolutionary cultural anthropology.

‘Give me the meat, the child said’

Using video-recorded data, this study investigates the use of the third-party position by cameroonian Baka hunter-gatherer children in talk-in-interaction with adults, in relation to butchering bush meat. Baka children often support the meat-cutting activity, which allows them to hear adult talk and to discuss social events with adults. The findings demonstrate that children utilised their third-party position to avoid trouble in talk with adults, and used overheard adults’ utterances to create, apply, and reconfirm the identity categories of ‘adult’ and ‘child’. overall, these findings indicate that Baka children use quiet observation of adults to construct participation frameworks that incorporate both adults and themselves.

Stable isotope evidence of juvenile foraging in prehistoric Central California

Ethnographic evidence demonstrates that hunter–gatherer children may forage effectively enough to supplement an adult provisioned diet, where ecology, subsistence strategies, and social organization are conducive to juvenile participation. We use stable isotope measures (δ15N and δ13C) from bone collagen and serial-samples of dentinal collagen extracted from first molars to examine childhood dietary patterns among 24 individuals from the Late Holocene Central California site CA-ALA-554. We identify weaning age and early childhood dietary patterns, and find evidence for independent child foraging among 25% of the sample population (n=6), the majority of whom lived during the high-stress Medieval Climatic Anomaly (1100–700 BP).

Food Sharing among Hadza Hunter-Gatherer Children.

Human prosociality is one of the defining characteristics of our species, yet the ontogeny of altruistic behavior remains poorly understood. The evolution of widespread food sharing in humans helped shape cooperation, family formation, life history, language, and the development of economies of scale. While the behavioral and ecological correlates of food sharing among adults are widely studied, very little is known about food sharing among children. Here, in the first study to analyze the food sharing patterns of hunter-gatherer children, we show that while sharing may be biased towards kin, reciprocity characterizes the majority of all sharing dyads, both related and unrelated. These data lend support to the recent claim that discrimination among kin might be linked with reciprocal altruism theory. Furthermore, we show that age positively correlates with an increase in sharing, both in frequency and amount, supporting recent suggestions that prosocial behaviors and egalitarianism develop strongly in middle childhood when children acquire the normative rules of their society.

Memory for Body Movements in Namibian Hunter-Gatherer Children

Despite the global universality of physical space, different cultural groups vary substantially as to how they memorize it. Although European participants mostly prefer egocentric strategies (“left, right, front, back”) to memorize spatial relations, others use mostly allocentric strategies (“north, south, east, west”). Prior research has shown that some cultures show a general preference to memorize object locations and even also body movements in relation to the larger environment rather than in relation to their own body. Here, we investigate whether this cultural bias also applies to movements specifically directed at the participants’ own body, emphasizing the role of ego. We show that even participants with generally allocentric biases preferentially memorize self-directed movements using egocentric spatial strategies. These results demonstrate an intricate system of interacting cultural biases and momentary situational characteristics.