An optimal foraging-based model of hunter-gatherer population dynamics

Abstract

Population changes for hunter-gatherers are modeled on the basis of nutritional intake, which is determined using an optimal foraging model based upon the optimization technique of linear programming. The population model not only demonstrates how hunter-gatherer demography changes with nutrition, but also shows how their density influences food abundance in the environment which in turn affects their nutritional status. Differences in food availability in different environments can be assessed by examining the effects of different preexploitation maxima for food abundances. Hunter-gatherer populations are predicted by the model to display a stable limit cycle which varies in severity with the maximum food abundance in the environment, being more severe at very low and high food abundances. Observed hunter-gatherer densities, growth rates, and life expectancies are shown to be consistent with the population model's predictions for different environments. The model is also used to examine the impact huntergatherers might have on their food resources including whether or not overexploitation (extinction) occurs and how their diets change in different environments with changes in population density. Finally, the model is used to examine archaeological questions about the Paleo-Indian colonization of the New World and the effects of technological innovation by hunter-gatherers.