A Reassessment of the !Kung San Essay -- Geography Geographical Papers

A Reassessment of the Kung San The Kung San are a group of hunter-gathers that reach out their home in the northern Kalahari desert. Although many ecological and cultural changes consume occurred within this group throughout the past thirty years, this article examines the forum and subsistence patterns that characterize these people. Bentley examines the total fertility rate of the Kung San and hypothesizes that the pattern of female energetics in their subsistence routine has a direct effect upon their fecundity (1984 79). His perspective explores the emergence of fertility in great depth, and represents a viewpoint that is absent from the textual matter written by Richard downwind, The Dobe Ju/hoansi. In fact, some of the hypotheses proposed by Bentley appear to neutralise lee(prenominal)s own research, while others are supported by the findings of Lee. One question that remains undecided regarding the low fertility range of the Kung is the degree to which this is a result of sociocultural means, or an effect of physiologic and biological processes. Bentley examines the intermediate variables within Bongaarts reproductive compare, which is one means of illustrating and quantifying the mechanisms that whitethorn cause the low fertility rate, and demonst evaluate that this research seems insufficient in explaining fertility. Briefly, Bongaarts equation incorporates the following variables total fertility rate, index of proportions married, index of contraception, index of bring forth abortion, index of lactational infecundability, and total fecundity (which includes fecundability, intra-uterine mortality, and permanent sterility). In addition to wake that the intermediate variables of Bongaarts equation are insufficient in explaining th... ...estyle whitethorn consist of foods that are more malleable, therefore reducing the amount of conviction mothers spend nursing their young. As the Kung make cultural transitions into more sedent ary lifestyles, fertility rates will presumably be affected. As Lee points out, in village life the men maintain the mobility while the women plow housebound, with more of their time spent alone with the children. Thus, a more sedentary lifestyle may lead to an increase in fertility rates and a subsequent increase in population. In fact, the population of peacenik has risen from 35 in 1964 to 165 at the time Lee wrote his book (1994 154). Another result of such changes is that they may lead to the hyponymy of women. The new emergence of a sedentary lifestyle has implications for overall fertility, yet also threatens to undermine the egalitarian values of this group of people.