African Foragers

If modern humans originated in Africa, it is obvious that one should look there to understand the fundamental processes involved. Kusimba's book helps one to focus on the lifestyles and history of African foragers in such a way that no one can escape the implications of this basic truth. * H-Africa *
African Foragers is a tour de force. Dr. Kusimba explores African Foragers lifestyles with dedication, competence and clarity. In her crystal-clear style, she paints in eight incisive chapters a nuanced picture of Hunter-Gatherers research and spells out key episodes of Foragers odyssey, mostly in Africa, but sometimes beyond. -- Augustin F. C. Holl, University of Michigan
Sibel Barut Kusimba's African Foragers will serve as an excellent introductory text for students, not just for those working in African archaeology but also beyond. This is a comprehensive, up-to-date synthesis of outstanding research on the archaeology of African hunter-gatherers. -- Peter Mitchell, St. Hugh's College, Oxford University
The work is very well written, with a wealth of theoretical argument that will be extremely useful for graduate seminars in African Prehistory. -- Andrew B. Smith * H-Africa *
Kusimba presents a lucid, up-to-date review of the theoretical underpinnings of the archaeological interpretation of hunter-gatherers... the author interprets the later stone-age archaeology of the region in light of these ideas and underscores the dynamic and resilient value of the hunter-gatherer adaptation. The result is a volume that will be essential in college and university libraries...Essential. -- R.B. Clay, (formerly of) University of Kentucky * CHOICE *
Sibel Kusimba is one of a new generation of archaeologist who are invigorating the study of African prehistory. African Foragers: Environment, Technology, Interactions is an outstanding synthesis of current research on the prehistory of African foragers from earliest times through the Neolithic and into the colonial era. Unlike older works focused on artifact typologies and culture histories, Kusimba illustrates the ways in which environment, technology, and interaction combine in process of cultural adaptation. This process has created foraging societies that, on the surface, appear remarkably stable over long periods of time but which, when examined closely, are as dynamic as any other cultures on earth. Kusimba's writing is clear, engaging, and unburdened with jargon. Her examples are well-chosen and serve to illustrate both the stability and dynamism in African foraging societies. African Foragers is a rare example of a book that both students and scholars will find useful, one that can be used both as a course text and as a research source. It is sure to become a standard by which future works on the prehistory of African foragers are measured. -- Peter Peregrine, Lawrence University
Kusimba's African Foragers is a clearly written undergraduate textbook that highlights environment, technology, and social interactions among ancient (and modern) African foragers. * Technology and Culture *
This wide-ranging book explores ethnographic and archaeological evidence related to foraging societies, with a focus on eastern and southern Africa, in order to establish 'the hunting and gathering of naturally occurring seasonal harvests' as a way of life all its own, successful and long lived. * Agricultural History *