The Kalahari Debate is a series of back and forth arguments that began in the 1980s amongst anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians about how the San people and hunter-gatherer societies in southern Africa have lived in the past. On one side of the debate were scholars led by Richard Borshay Lee and Irven DeVore, considered traditionalists or "isolationists." On the other side of the debate were scholars led by Edwin Wilmsen and James Denbow, considered revisionists or "integrationists." framed|The Kalahari Desert Region Lee conducted early and extensive ethnographic research among a San community, the !Kung San. He and other traditionalists consider the San to have been, historically, isolated and independent hunter/gatherers separate from nearby societies. Wilmsen, Denbow and the revisionists oppose these views. They believe that the San have not always been an isolated community, but rather have played important economic roles in surrounding communities. They claim that over time the San have become a dispossessed and marginalized people. Revisionists  Edwin Wilmsen's 1989 book Land Filled With Flies kicked off the Kalahari Debate. thumbnail|The San "Bushmen" Wilmsen made several remarks attacking anthropologists’ view of the San people. Most of his attacks were at Richard Lee and his work. Wilmsen made claims about the San such as, “Their appearance as foragers is a function of their relegations to an underclass in the playing out of historical processes that began before the current millennium and culminated in the early decades of this century.” This statement upsets the traditionalists because it says that the San are not isolates but have been an underclass in a society throughout history. Wilmsen makes another statement against the traditionalists when he says, “The isolation in which they are said to have been found is a creation of our own view of them, not of their history as they lived it.” He is beginning to say that anthropologists’ judgment is clouded because they already have a predisposed view of the San and hunter-gatherer societies as being isolates. Wilmsen states that the terms “Bushmen,” “Forager,” and “Hunter-Gatherer” contribute to the ideology of them being isolates. He says this is because these terms are commonly associated with isolated groups but his main claim is that for the San this is not the case. Wilmsen also goes on to claim that Lee approaches the San as a people without a history, that they have been doing the same thing forever. He states, “they are permitted antiquity while denied history” Wilmsen continues the argument that anthropologists’ goal is to study hunter-gatherer groups who have lived on their own for centuries, which builds a stereotype for hunter-gatherers. He believes this is why Richard Lee's views are flawed, and also why he is saying that the San are incorporated in a wider political economy in southern Africa. Archaeological evidence  When it comes to archaeological evidence, much work still has yet to be done. However, artifacts and ecofacts have been found at southern African sites that could help prove the revisionist view of the San people. thumbnail|Tsodilo Rock Art Their strongest supporting site is in the Tsodilo Hills, where rock art displays San looking over Bantu cattle. In the hills, there are 160 cattle pictures, 10 of which display stick figures near them. Barnard, Alan “The Kalahari Debate: A Bibliographic Essay.” Edinburgh : Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh, ( 1992.) Grauer, Victor A. "New perspectives on the Kalahari debate: A tale of two ‘genomes’." Before Farming 2 (2007): 1-14. Lee, Richard B., and Mathias Guenther. "Problems in Kalahari historical ethnography and the tolerance of error." History in Africa 20 (1993): 185–235. Sadr, Karim. "Kalahari Archaeology and the Bushman Debate." Current Anthropology 38, no. 1 (February 1997): 104. Science Reference Center, EBSCOhost.
framed|The Kalahari Desert Region The Kalahari Debate is a series of back and forth arguments that began in the 1980s amongst anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians about how the San people and hunter-gatherer societies in southern Africa have lived in the past. On one side of the debate were scholars led by Richard Borshay Lee and Irven DeVore, considered traditionalists or "isolationists." On the other side of the debate were scholars led by Edwin Wilmsen and James Denbow, considered revisionists or "integrationists." Lee conducted early and extensive ethnographic research among a San community, the !Kung San. He and other traditionalists consider the San to have been, historically, isolated and independent hunter/gatherers separate from nearby societies. Wilmsen, Denbow and the revisionists oppose these views. They believe that the San have not always been an isolated community, but rather have played important economic roles in surrounding communities. They claim that over time the San have become a dispossessed and marginalized people. Revisionists thumbnail|The San "Bushmen" Edwin Wilmsen's 1989 book Land Filled With Flies kicked off the Kalahari Debate. Wilmsen made several remarks attacking anthropologists’ view of the San people. Most of his attacks were at Richard Lee and his work. Wilmsen made claims about the San such as, “Their appearance as foragers is a function of their relegations to an underclass in the playing out of historical processes that began before the current millennium and culminated in the early decades of this century.” This statement upsets the traditionalists because it says that the San are not isolates but have been an underclass in a society throughout history. Wilmsen makes another statement against the traditionalists when he says, “The isolation in which they are said to have been found is a creation of our own view of them, not of their history as they lived it.” He is beginning to say that anthropologists’ judgment is clouded because they already have a predisposed view of the San and hunter-gatherer societies as being isolates. Wilmsen states that the terms “Bushmen,” “Forager,” and “Hunter-Gatherer” contribute to the ideology of them being isolates. He says this is because these terms are commonly associated with isolated groups but his main claim is that for the San this is not the case. Wilmsen also goes on to claim that Lee approaches the San as a people without a history, that they have been doing the same thing forever. He states, “they are permitted antiquity while denied history” Wilmsen continues the argument that anthropologists’ goal is to study hunter-gatherer groups who have lived on their own for centuries, which builds a stereotype for hunter-gatherers. He believes this is why Richard Lee's views are flawed, and also why he is saying that the San are incorporated in a wider political economy in southern Africa. Archaeological evidence thumbnail|Tsodilo Rock Art When it comes to archaeological evidence, much work still has yet to be done. However, artifacts and ecofacts have been found at southern African sites that could help prove the revisionist view of the San people. Their strongest supporting site is in the Tsodilo Hills, where rock art displays San looking over Bantu cattle. In the hills, there are 160 cattle pictures, 10 of which display stick figures near them. Barnard, Alan “The Kalahari Debate: A Bibliographic Essay.” Edinburgh : Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh, ( 1992). Grauer, Victor A. "New perspectives on the Kalahari debate: A tale of two ‘genomes’." Before Farming 2 (2007): 1-14. Lee, Richard B., and Mathias Guenther. "Problems in Kalahari historical ethnography and the tolerance of error." History in Africa 20 (1993): 185–235. Sadr, Karim. "Kalahari Archaeology and the Bushman Debate." Current Anthropology 38, no. 1 (February 1997): 104. Science Reference Center, EBSCOhost.
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The Kalahari
framed|The Kalahari Desert Region The Kalahari
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framed|The Kalahari Desert Region
A
thumbnail|The San "Bushmen"
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thumbnail|The San "Bushmen"
A
thumbnail|Tsodilo Rock Art
D
thumbnail|Tsodilo Rock Art
R
1992.)
1992).