Overview
This paper explores the relationship between the Pastoral Savanna Maasai people of East Africa and the natural world in which they live. The paper relies on Human Ecology theory to identify, describe and discuss Maasai historical background of pastoralism, subsistence patterns, indigenous technologies, mobility and residence patterns; and group and territorial organization.
Understanding Maasai Human Ecology is expected to provide insights that may lead to the development of models of human interaction with the environment during the Pastoral Neolithic, Pastoral Iron Age and the Later prehistoric times in East Africa.
The paper relies on ethnographic observations, unstructured interviews, informal survey and a review of extant research and literature on the Maasai toward a biased establishment of ethno-archaeological interpretation.
Key words: Maasai, Neolithic, Pastoralism, East Africa, Ecosystems, Mobility patterns, Human ecology, and Residence patterns
Sponser
Mwanzia D. Kyule
Principal Investigator
Abstract
Abstract
This paper explores the relationship between the Pastoral Savanna Maasai people of East Africa and the natural world in which they live. The paper relies on Human Ecology theory to identify, describe and discuss Maasai historical background of pastoralism, subsistence patterns, indigenous technologies, mobility and residence patterns; and group and territorial organization.
Understanding Maasai Human Ecology is expected to provide insights that may lead to the development of models of human interaction with the environment during the Pastoral Neolithic, Pastoral Iron Age and the Later prehistoric times in East Africa.
The paper relies on ethnographic observations, unstructured interviews, informal survey and a review of extant research and literature on the Maasai toward a biased establishment of ethno-archaeological interpretation.