Synopses & Reviews
This collection of chapters by archaeologists, anthropologists, ethnoarchaeologists, biological archaeologists, and behavioral ecologists considers how humans have practiced mobility across several continents and thousands of years, raising questions about human adaptation and offering a diversity of approaches for measuring ancient mobility of small-scale societies. Mobility is a critical aspect of human adaptation, and humans are unique in their ability to adapt to an immense range of physical habitats. This capacity is at least partially dependent on strategies of population and labor movement within environments. The number of moves, the distance traveled, the frequency of movement, and the people who move all are relevant as archaeologists and anthropologists bring a variety of tools to bear in reading the vast archaeological record of environmental adaptation.and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; This volume should appeal to professional archaeologists as well as many cultural anthropologists, and will be of special interest to researchers of hunter-gatherer, pastoral, and small-scale agricultural societies.
Review
andldquo;This collection more than deserves a place on the shelves of anyone working on mobility.andrdquo;andmdash;
The Journal of the Royal Anthropological InstituteReview
andldquo;A no-nonsense book which does exactly what it says on the cover. The twelve contributions are equally divided into two sections looking at ethnoarchaeological mobility and archaeological studies of mobility, with case studies ranging from Australia to Portugal via Kazakhstan, Madagascar, and Sulawesi. . . .More than deserves a place on the shelves of anyone working on mobility.andrdquo;andmdash;andmdash;The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
Review
andldquo;Brings together the research of archaeologists, bioarchaeologists, and ethnoarchaeologists to explore the role of mobility among traditional people of the past and present. The studies cover mobile horticulturalists, pastoralists, and hunter-gatherers. The focus on mobility provides a strong focal point.andrdquo;andmdash;
American Anthropologistand#160;Review
andldquo;A significant step forward in integrating studies of living systems with those of the archaeological record.andrdquo;andmdash;
Journal of Human EvolutionSynopsis
Humans are unique in their ability to inhabit an immense range of physical habitats. This capacity partially results from the need to cope with variation in spatial and temporal distributions of critical resources. Yet factors other than the search for food often impacts relocation. Information gathering, raw material collection, social networking, trade, and mate search each present mobility needs that compete with daily food searches. While physical evidence might explain such human behavior, ethnographic information can reveal how these events interrelate, providing the missing link between human activities and the remains preserved in the archaeological record.and#160;
About the Author
Frandeacute;dandeacute;ric Sellet is associate professor of archaeology at the University of Kansas.
Russell D. Greaves is research associate of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, at Harvard University, and an adjunct associate professor of anthropology at the University of Utah.
Pei-Lin Yu is an archaeologist with the U.S. Department of Interiorandrsquo;s Bureau of Reclamation, Pacific Northwest Regional Office, and an assistant professor at Boise State University.