This blog is a pedagogical experiment that aims to compile a database of resources for people interested in the prehistory of hunter-gatherer societies worldwide. It is part of the grading requirement for the course "The Archaeology of Hunter-Gatherers" which I am teaching at McGill University in the Winter 2009 semester. This is U3 ("senior") seminar that revolves around the discussion and critical appraisal of selected readings in hunter-gatherer prehistory and ethnography.
There is a growing amount of readily accessible information on hunter-gatherers avilable online, perhaps most comprehensively at sites like the Hunter-Gatherer Wiki. That said, much of this information focuses on ethnographically documented hunter-gatherers, with little discussion of how this information can help understand the archaeological record of groups that depended principally on a combination of gathering, fishing and hunting. This puts people interested in forager prehistory at something of a disadvantage, at least in terms of readily accessible data.
Many students already have an online presence, be it through blogs, online journals or social networking sites like Facebook. As such, many are already used to presenting and reading material written by and for their peers and used to expressing relatively complex ideas in a way that is much more accessible than most academic writing. This blog is an effort to recruit this drive and have them contribute the seeds of a database of thoughtful but accessible essays about research relevant to the prehistory of hunter-gatherers.
As part of the course, each student has to contribute critical commentary on at least four published papers. Since each student is expected to produce a research paper at the end of the course, they are encouraged to select articles that will be part of their literature review, although this is only a suggestion. In addition, everyone is also encouraged to post interesting quotes, links to intersting posts on other blogs, and/or relevant news reports pertaining to hunter-gatherers. With around ten students in the course, this will generate a body of at least 40 critical commentaries that can help point others to relevant literature they might not otherwise be aware of, and to discuss some of these commentaries and papers using insights from a series of other papers discussed in the classroom. To make things more interesting, I'll be contributing commentaries of my own as I research a series of papers I'm currently working on. In the end, the posts on this blog (along with any discussion generated) will form the basis of an online database focused specifically on material concerning hunter-gatherer prehistory.
