Hunter‑gatherer societies are often put on a pedestal as paragons of equality – but the reality is more complicated
DOI
10.64628/AAI.9fd6qwywc
Abstract
"Insights like ours are revising researchers’ understanding of both the past and how people operate today, as inequality grows globally. Hunter-gatherers are often at the center of heated academic battles about what it means to be human, including debates over gender, war and peace and whether humans are, by nature, egalitarian or hierarchical."
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-3-2026
Publisher Statement
Creative Commons
We believe in the free flow of information Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.Recommended Citation
Hawkes, Duncan Stibbard and von Rueden, Christopher, "Hunter‑gatherer societies are often put on a pedestal as paragons of equality – but the reality is more complicated" (2026). Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications. 531.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/jepson-faculty-publications/531
Comments
Christopher von Rueden received funding from the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. He is President of One Pencil Project (www.onepencilproject.org), a non-profit that funds educational opportunites for indigenous youth.