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The Socioeconomic Organization Of Communal Hunting: An Archaeological Examination Of Shoshone Collective Action, Matthew O'Brien

Anthropology ETDs

This dissertation focuses on developing the means to investigate social organization of communal hunting among egalitarian groups. Communal hunting represents an alternative subsistence strategy that takes advantage of seasonal aggregation of prey species. To maximize returns from these large herds, human foraging groups opt to cooperate with additional groups that otherwise maintain their political independence during the rest of the year. Yet, what is not clear is whether these temporary large camps maintain their egalitarian ethos, giving an equal voice to all members or if the participants adopt an alternative social and political structure. This dissertation uses the case study …