Fathers’ Roles in Hunter-Gatherer and Other Small-Scale Cultures

THIS CHAPTER SUMMARIZES and evaluates recent research on the roles of fathers in child development in hunting-gathering (also known as foragers), simple farming, and pastoral (i.e., heavy reliance on cattle, camels, goats, etc.) communities around the world. In the past, these societies were referred to as preindustrial, preliterate, or traditional societies, but these terms were somewhat derogatory or implied the people were in some way or another less intelligent or complex than peoples in modern, literate, and industrial societies. These cultures are characterized by their relatively low population density and minimal amounts of social and economic stratification. Anthropologists have conducted most of the research in these communities, but some developmental psychologists have also contributed to the literature (e.g., Harkness & Super, 1992; Morelli & Tronick, 1992; Nsamenang, 1992). In this chapter we review three types of studies conducted on fathers in hunting-gathering and other small-scale cultures: (1) evolutionary studies from human behavior ecology, (2) large (i.e., more than 50 cultures) crosscultural studies of father involvement, and (3) detailed ethnographic case studies of fathers. Evolutionary studies are considered first because they examine some of the biological or reproductive bases of father involvement. Evolutionary and ethnographic case studies are similar in that they are usually long-term field-based studies of one or a few cultures. Ethnographers are more eclectic in their theory and methods, using qualitative and quantitative methods, whereas human behavioral ecologists use evolutionary theory and rely almost exclusively on systematic behavioral observations (i.e., they are interested in what fathers do rather than what they say). This chapter also emphasizes two general theoretical orientations: adaptationist and cultural. Adaptationist studies assume that fathers’ roles are functional in that they are adapting to particular social, economic, reproductive, or demographic conditions or contexts. By contrast, researchers who