Persistence hunting
Encyclopedia
Persistence hunting is a hunting
technique in which hunters use a combination of running and tracking
to pursue prey to the point of exhaustion. While humans can sweat
to reduce body heat their quadruped
prey would need to slow from a gallop to pant
. Today, it is very rare and seen only in a few groups such as Kalahari bushmen
and the Tarahumara
or Raramuri people of Northern Mexico. Persistence hunting requires endurance running
– running many miles for extended periods of time. Among primate
s, endurance running is only seen in human
s, and persistence hunting is thought to have been one of the earliest forms of human hunting, having evolved 2 million years ago.
weapons, such as darts
, spear
s, or sling
s. Since they could not kill their prey from a distance and were not fast enough to catch the animal, one reliable way to kill it would have been to run it down over a long distance.
In this regard one has to bear in mind that, as hominids adapted to bipedalism they would have lost some speed, becoming less able to catch prey with short, fast charges. They would, however, have gained endurance and become better adapted to persistence hunting. Although many mammals sweat
, few have evolved to use sweating for effective thermoregulation
, humans and horses being notable exceptions. This coupled with relative hairlessness would have given human hunters an additional advantage by keeping their bodies cool in the midday heat.
, is not shot or speared from a distance, but simply run down in the midday heat. Depending on the specific conditions, hunters of the central Kalahari will chase a kudu for about two to five hours over 25 to 35 km (15.5 to 21.7 mi) in temperatures of about 40 to 42 °C (104 to 107.6 F). The hunter chases the kudu, which then runs away out of sight. By tracking it down at a fast running pace the hunter catches up with it before it has had enough time to rest in the shade. The animal is repeatedly chased and tracked down until it is too exhausted to continue running. The hunter then kills it at close range with a spear.
's documentary The Life of Mammals
(program 10, "Food For Thought") showed a bushman hunting a kudu antelope until it collapsed.
It is thought that the Tarahumara
natives of northwestern Mexico
in the Copper Canyon
area may have also practised persistence hunting.
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
technique in which hunters use a combination of running and tracking
Tracking (hunting)
Tracking in hunting and ecology is the science and art of observing animal tracks and other signs, with the goal of gaining understanding of the landscape and the animal being tracked...
to pursue prey to the point of exhaustion. While humans can sweat
SWEAT
SWEAT is an OLN/TSN show hosted by Julie Zwillich that aired in 2003-2004.Each of the 13 half-hour episodes of SWEAT features a different outdoor sport: kayaking, mountain biking, ice hockey, beach volleyball, soccer, windsurfing, rowing, Ultimate, triathlon, wakeboarding, snowboarding, telemark...
to reduce body heat their quadruped
Quadruped
Quadrupedalism is a form of land animal locomotion using four limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a quadrupedal manner is known as a quadruped, meaning "four feet"...
prey would need to slow from a gallop to pant
Breathing
Breathing is the process that moves air in and out of the lungs. Aerobic organisms require oxygen to release energy via respiration, in the form of the metabolism of energy-rich molecules such as glucose. Breathing is only one process that delivers oxygen to where it is needed in the body and...
. Today, it is very rare and seen only in a few groups such as Kalahari bushmen
Bushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
and the Tarahumara
Tarahumara
The Rarámuri or Tarahumara are a Native American people of northwestern Mexico who are renowned for their long-distance running ability...
or Raramuri people of Northern Mexico. Persistence hunting requires endurance running
Endurance
Endurance is the ability for a human or animal to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fatigue. In humans, it is usually used in aerobic or anaerobic exercise...
– running many miles for extended periods of time. Among primate
Primate
A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...
s, endurance running is only seen in human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s, and persistence hunting is thought to have been one of the earliest forms of human hunting, having evolved 2 million years ago.
Persistence hunting in human evolution
The persistence hunt may well have been the first form of hunting practiced by hominids. It is likely that this method of hunting evolved before humans invented projectileProjectile
A projectile is any object projected into space by the exertion of a force. Although a thrown baseball is technically a projectile too, the term more commonly refers to a weapon....
weapons, such as darts
Dart (missile)
Darts are missile weapons, designed to fly such that a sharp, often weighted point will strike first. They can be distinguished from javelins by fletching and a shaft that is shorter and/or more flexible, and from arrows by the fact that they are not of the right length to use with a normal...
, spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
s, or sling
Sling
The word sling may refer to:* Sling , a device used to hurl projectiles* Sling is an item of climbing equipment consisting of a sewn loop of webbing that can be wrapped around sections of rock or tied to other pieces of equipment.* Sling * Ski jumping sling is an item of sports training...
s. Since they could not kill their prey from a distance and were not fast enough to catch the animal, one reliable way to kill it would have been to run it down over a long distance.
In this regard one has to bear in mind that, as hominids adapted to bipedalism they would have lost some speed, becoming less able to catch prey with short, fast charges. They would, however, have gained endurance and become better adapted to persistence hunting. Although many mammals sweat
SWEAT
SWEAT is an OLN/TSN show hosted by Julie Zwillich that aired in 2003-2004.Each of the 13 half-hour episodes of SWEAT features a different outdoor sport: kayaking, mountain biking, ice hockey, beach volleyball, soccer, windsurfing, rowing, Ultimate, triathlon, wakeboarding, snowboarding, telemark...
, few have evolved to use sweating for effective thermoregulation
Thermoregulation
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different...
, humans and horses being notable exceptions. This coupled with relative hairlessness would have given human hunters an additional advantage by keeping their bodies cool in the midday heat.
Procedure
During the persistence hunt an antelope, such as a kuduKudu
The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus Tragelaphus:*Lesser Kudu, Tragelaphus imberbis*Greater Kudu, Tragelaphus strepsiceros- Etymology :...
, is not shot or speared from a distance, but simply run down in the midday heat. Depending on the specific conditions, hunters of the central Kalahari will chase a kudu for about two to five hours over 25 to 35 km (15.5 to 21.7 mi) in temperatures of about 40 to 42 °C (104 to 107.6 F). The hunter chases the kudu, which then runs away out of sight. By tracking it down at a fast running pace the hunter catches up with it before it has had enough time to rest in the shade. The animal is repeatedly chased and tracked down until it is too exhausted to continue running. The hunter then kills it at close range with a spear.
Persistence hunting among cultural groups
The persistence hunt is still practised by hunter-gatherers in the central Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa, and David AttenboroughDavid Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
's documentary The Life of Mammals
The Life of Mammals
The Life of Mammals is a nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the UK from 20 November 2002....
(program 10, "Food For Thought") showed a bushman hunting a kudu antelope until it collapsed.
It is thought that the Tarahumara
Tarahumara
The Rarámuri or Tarahumara are a Native American people of northwestern Mexico who are renowned for their long-distance running ability...
natives of northwestern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in the Copper Canyon
Copper Canyon
Copper Canyon is a group of canyons consisting of six distinct canyons in the Sierra Tarahumara in the southwestern part of the state of Chihuahua in Mexico...
area may have also practised persistence hunting.
See also
- Bernd HeinrichBernd HeinrichBernd Heinrich, Ph.D , is a professor emeritus in the biology department at the University of Vermont and is the author of a number of books about nature writing, behavior, biology, ecology, and evolution. Heinrich has made major contributions to the study of insect physiology and behavior, as...
's book Why We Run, Harper Collins, 2002, p. 128. - Cursorial huntingCursorial huntingCursorial hunting, also called endurance hunting, is a hunting strategy practiced by animals that are much slower over short distances than their quarry but have superior endurance over long distances....
- TarahumaraTarahumaraThe Rarámuri or Tarahumara are a Native American people of northwestern Mexico who are renowned for their long-distance running ability...
- Tracking (hunting)Tracking (hunting)Tracking in hunting and ecology is the science and art of observing animal tracks and other signs, with the goal of gaining understanding of the landscape and the animal being tracked...
- Scott CarrierScott CarrierScott Carrier is an American author, radio producer, and educator. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is currently finishing his second book and is a professor in the Department of Communication at Utah Valley University.- Written work :...
's book Running After Antelope describes the author's attempt at a persistence hunt in America
General
- D.M. Bramble and D.E. Lieberman, "Endurance running and the evolution of Homo" (PDF), NatureNature (journal)Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
, 432: 345-353, November 18, 2004. - Ingfei Chen, "Born to Run", Discover, May 2006.
- Louis Liebenberg, (2006) "Persistence Hunting by Modern Hunter-Gatherers", Current AnthropologyCurrent AnthropologyCurrent Anthropology is a peer-reviewed anthropology academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press and sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. Founded in 1959 by the anthropologist Sol Tax...
, 47:6. - Louis Liebenberg, (2008) "The relevance of persistence hunting to human evolution", Journal of Human Evolution, 55: 1156-1159.