Advantages And Disadvantages Of The San Americans

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Robert Thomas July 22, 2012 ANT 101 The San are foragers who reside in the Kalahari Desert in Africa. The San people have survived and flourished here for thousands of years. In a foraging culture the people live in mobile groups called Bands (Nowak & Laird, 2010). Most of the time, they move every few weeks to location were food and water is most present. In foraging cultures continuous movement and the sharing of food and water are part of what builds kinship ties. These kinship ties build a greater sense of obligation to each other (Nowak & Laird, 2010). One example of generalized reciprocal culture lived by the San is their sharing and pooling together of food gathered for the day with all members of the Band. This sharing helps to ensure the survival of the camp. For example, a hunter’s family will not…show more content…
Our society does not hold high standards when it comes to working together as a team like the San culture does. (Nowak & Laird 2010) states “Perhaps a large number of us should step back and take a lesson on how to survive instead of how to keep up with the Jones”. In our society, we are more concerned about ourselves and take our resources for granted. We do depend on one another for certain things but we do not rely on family members or relatives to provide like the San’s do. The San people like the simple life and are not greedy like Americans can be. The San culture believe in bilateral decent which means that they consider being related to both sides of their family. They depend on their kin system because droughts can last for several months. Their close kinship allows them peace of mind in case of water scarcity. They are able to find relatives on both sides of their family that do have water that are happy to share. This kinship creates a safety net for the San culture because they know they are a team and can always rely on one another.

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