Modelling prehistoric hunting behaviour (MPJ)

Simulations of hunter-gatherer mobility and behaviour have long been used in archaeology to offer insights into the subsistence strategies, survival resilience and social development of early human societies. Central to these models are foraging practices that would have been determined by socio-ecological dynamics. To date, ethnographic research has been instrumental in helping archaeologists theorise foraging behaviour. Nonetheless, several aspects of human-environment and human-animal interactions in the context of traditional hunting practices (i.e. hunting on foot, with a bow and arrow as opposed to firearms, and without orientation instruments) are still little understood. MPJ, an interdisciplinary and collaborative project that brings together archaeologists and indigenous hunting experts, aims to fill in this gap. The project offers a rare opportunity to capture using geospatial technologies the movements of Ju/’hoansi and Hai//kom San game tracking experts while hunting in arid landscapes in Namibia. During multiple hunting bouts, a variety of georeferenced quantitative data (including movement trajectories, heart rate, caloric expenditure, and wind data), as well as qualitative information on decision-making during hunting are collected. These datasets are then used to support the conceptualisation, calibration and validation of agent-based simulations of hunter-gatherer behaviour in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Such models aim to explore the interplay between ecological changes and foraging decisions and test different scenarios of human-animal and human-environment interactions in varying environmental conditions. Ultimately, the project seeks to examine aspects of environmental sustainability and biodiversity that are relevant to past hunter-gatherer societies, as well as modern populations living in similar landscapes.