Page 207 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

1508 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

when expressed, result in population growth if the birth The paleolithic system of reproduction sharply restric-
rate exceeds the death rate. ted births. For example, a band of forty persons would
When humanity began is debatable.Anatomically mod- have about twenty females, of whom perhaps ten would
ern humans known as Homo sapiens date back about be of child-bearing age, say, eighteen to forty, the other
200,000 years, originating in southeastern and eastern ten too young or too old.Ten mothers, if they gave birth
central Africa. Homo sapiens’ direct ancestors—with every two years, and if each baby survived, would have
some intermediary types (Homo erectus and possibly after six years three children each, in all thirty small chil-
some other distinct species)—date back 1.8 million years dren, and membership swelled to seventy persons. Such
ago, and even these types had their predecessors. Early a group could hardly feed itself in a restricted foraging
humans lived in an era that had a technology known to zone and could not move readily every few weeks a dis-
social science as “paleolithic,” meaning “old stone.” tance of 15 kilometers or so. A band small enough to
Foraging was an enduring system of production. Com- feed itself within range of a campsite and mobile enough
munities typically gathered the edible plants and animals to move frequently required tiny numbers of babies,
within range of a campsite, staying there for a few days probably no more than one under age seven per woman.
or even a month or more, depending on available food- A woman therefore probably had no more than three or
stuffs. Where trees produced abundant nuts, or where four births, of which half would not survive to adult-
stands of wild grain grew, or where rivers and seacoasts hood. Births were limited by strict control of sexuality, by
offered abundant fish, shellfish, and aquatic animals such naturally high infant mortality, and even by infanticide.
as waterfowl, seals, or walruses, communities might set- These limitations put population growth at almost zero,
tle longer, some remaining even for years. However, gen- one woman with two surviving children being minimal
erally hunting and gathering as a system of production to replace a generation.
required mobility.With some exceptions most communi-
ties had to move frequently, maybe ten to forty times per Women’s Work, Men’s Work
year. Bands had only as many young children or tools, Because adult women conceived, gave birth, breastfed,
clothing, baskets, and so forth as they could carry to and nurtured young children, their work tended to be
another distant campsite. confined to near campsites.They gathered edible vegeta-
tion, carried water, tended fires,
prepared food from raw mate-
rials, and made and mended
clothing. Men ranged far from
camp, hunting, scouting for
likely campsites or vegetation,
or keeping watch for danger-
ous animals and rival bands.
When young men of one band
encountered those of another,
hostile contacts might follow,
in effect territorial boundary

Incised drawing of deer
on a deer antler from
southern France.