TAU study shows connection between hunter-gatherers and animals

On April 27, Tel Aviv University (TAU) released a statement detailing the findings of relationships between hunter-gatherer societies and the animals that were hunted by them. 

Eyal Halfon and Prof. Ran Barkai, with TAU's Department of Archeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, led the study that researched hunter-gatherer societies throughout human history, according to a press release from the university. 

In their findings, the duo found that different hunter-gatherer societies throughout history have had deep connections between themselves and the animals they hunted, whether it be existential, physical, spiritual or emotional. 

"There has been much discussion of the impact of people on the disappearance of animal species, mostly through hunting," Halfon said in the study, which was published on January 30 in Time and Mind. "But we flipped the issue to discover how the disappearance of animals — either through extinction or migration — has affected people.”

In their research, Halfon and Barkai conducted a survey on different historical periods and geographical locations, according to the university. They focused on hunter-gatherer societies that hunted animals as the basis for their subsistence and also situations in which these animals became extinct or moved to more hospitable regions due to other factors such as climate change.

"We found that humans reacted to the loss of the animal they hunted — a significant partner in deep, varied, and fundamental ways," Halfon said in the study. 

According to Barkai, some societies may have even had feelings of responsibility or guilt when it came to the animals they hunted. 

"Indigenous hunter-gatherer societies have been very careful to maintain clear rules about hunting,” said Prof. Barkai. “As a result, when an animal disappears, they ask: 'Did we behave properly? Is it angry and punishing us? What can we do to convince it to come back?'" he said in the studay. "Such a reaction has been exhibited by modern-day hunter-gatherer societies as well."

The full research paper can be found here.