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6 Changing Responsibilities and Collective Action: Examining Early North African Pastoralism
Article first published online: 8 OCT 2008
DOI: 10.1111/j.1551-8248.2008.00006.x
© 2008 by the American Anthropological Association
Issue
Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association
Special Issue: Gender, Households, and Society: Unraveling the Threads of the Past and the Present
Volume 18, Issue 1, pages 76–86, March 2008
Additional Information
How to Cite
Miller, A. (2008), 6 Changing Responsibilities and Collective Action: Examining Early North African Pastoralism. Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, 18: 76–86. doi: 10.1111/j.1551-8248.2008.00006.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 8 OCT 2008
- Article first published online: 8 OCT 2008
- Abstract
- Article
- References
- Cited By
Keywords:
- gender;
- Africa;
- agro-pastoralism;
- economic transition point
ABSTRACT
This chapter uses the concept of an economic transition point to examine and challenge assumptions about static gender roles in pastoralist societies. The transition from a hunting-and-gathering economy to an agro-pastoralist economy would have forced North Africans to perform tasks related to both economic systems until the pastoralist way of life could be firmly established. The greater need for labor in these transitional societies would have discouraged the formation of strict gender divisions like those seen in today's pastoralist societies. The changing needs of the economy would have necessitated a flexible division of labor. To examine these changing needs, this chapter examines evidence from rock art, archaeological sites, and modern pastoralist ethnography.