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A Noisy Signal: To what extent are Hadza hunting reputations predictive of actual hunting skills?

Stibbard-Hawkes, Duncan N.E.; Attenborough, Robert D.; Marlowe, Frank W.

A Noisy Signal: To what extent are Hadza hunting reputations predictive of actual hunting skills? Thumbnail


Authors

Duncan N.E. Stibbard-Hawkes

Robert D. Attenborough

Frank W. Marlowe



Contributors

DNE Stibbard Hawkes duncan.n.stibbard-hawkes@durham.ac.uk
Other

Abstract

The measurement of hunting ability has been central to several debates about the goals of men’s hunting among the Hadza and other hunter-gatherer populations. Hunting ability has previously been measured indirectly, by weighing the amount of food individuals bring back to camp over an extended period, their central place hunting return rate, and by conducting hunting ability interviews. Despite the centrality of the hunting ability concept, some authors (Hill & Kintigh, 2009) have expressed scepticism that such measures accurately capture individual differences in actual hunting ability. In the current study, we introduce a novel measure of hunting reputation which, unlike previous ones, allows fine-grained distinction between hunters of all reputations. To assess the suitability of this measure as a viable proxy for hunting ability, we address two further questions. First, to what extent do interviewees agree about the hunting ability of their present and former campmates? Second, to what extent does this measure of hunting reputation reflect success in four tasks expected to capture important components of hunting ability? We demonstrate that these measures of hunting reputation appear to reflect variation in these skills. We argue, however, that hunting reputation appears too noisy an index of these skills and, we infer, hunting ability in general for hunting to act, as some have suggested (e.g. Hawkes & Bird, 2002), as an honest signal of cryptic qualities related to hunting ability.

Citation

Stibbard-Hawkes, D. N., Attenborough, R. D., & Marlowe, F. W. (2018). A Noisy Signal: To what extent are Hadza hunting reputations predictive of actual hunting skills?. Evolution and Human Behavior, 39(6), 639-651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.06.005

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 10, 2018
Online Publication Date Jun 22, 2018
Publication Date Nov 1, 2018
Deposit Date Jun 26, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Evolution and Human Behavior
Print ISSN 1090-5138
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 39
Issue 6
Pages 639-651
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.06.005

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