Social classification of hunter-gatherers: An evolutionary perspective

Based on my own work among the Ainu in northern Hokkaido and ethnographic literatures for many modern hunting-gathering societies in northern Pacific rim in particular, this paper presents that such societies are classified into "Every-Male-the-Hunter" type and "Not-Every-Male-the-Hunter" type, which are distinctive from each other in their ecological and socioeconomic adaptive mechanisms; here, hunter refers to a big-game hunter. This occupational differentiation of males, reflecting different levels of sociocultural complexity, is judged to play a significant role in social evolution. This classification is considered in relation to hominization process.