Introduction

Physical activity is a defining characteristic of human adaptations. Hunter-gatherers, for example, are often characterized as highly mobile, hard-working, and physically active. In contrast, agriculturalists are sometimes seen as having an easier life – they are settled in one place and have a lighter workload than hunter-gatherers. In his popular and influential archaeology textbook, Robert Braidwood (1967:113) distinguished hunter-gatherers as leading “a savage’s existence, and a very tough one…following animals just to kill them to eat, or moving from one berry patch to another (and) living just like an animal.” Ethnographic and other research calls into question these simplistic portrayals of economic systems. Following the publication of Lee and DeVore’s (1968) Man the Hunter conference volume, and especially Lee’s (1979) provocative findings regarding work behavior and resource acquisition among the !Kung in northern Botswana, a consensus emerged that, contrary to the traditional Hobbesian depiction of hunter-gatherer lifeways as “nasty, brutish, and short,” prehistoric foragers were not subject to overbearing amounts of work, and life overall for them was leisurely, plentiful, and confident (Sahlins, 1972). More importantly, these developments fostered a wider discussion by anthropologists and other social scientists of activity, behavior, and lifestyle in both present and past hunter-gatherers (Kelly, 2013). These discussions led to the conclusion that human adaptive systems are highly variable. As a result, it is now clear that it is not possible to make blanket statements about the nature of workloads or other aspects of lifestyle in foragers and farmers (Kelly, 1992, 2013; Larsen, 1995). Rather, workload and lifestyle are highly influenced by the kinds of resources exploited, climate, and sometimes highly localized circumstances. Nevertheless, there are some general patterns that emerge via bioarchaeological study of past human populations, which this chapter will discuss, in part.