Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans

Doucleff reflects on a Hadzabe hunt that she and Rosy struggled to keep up on while in Tanzania. The hunt was led by a Hadzabe father named Thaa who was among the first to help Doucleff and her daughter settle in. Doucleff asserts that the human species first evolved in Africa, living as hunter-gatherers, and she writes that one of the most reliable ways to study early parenting methods is to examine cultures that most closely resemble paleolithic human behavior. However, she notes that modern hunter-gatherers are not identical to paleolithic humans, and they are not rare nor isolated from modernity, as is commonly portrayed in Western media.

Quoting Robin Wall Kimmerer, an ecologist, Doucleff describes the Hadzabe’s culture as a “gift economy,” where the humans have a reciprocal relationship with the land, receiving gifts from the land in return for responsible land use. Doucleff extends this to cover multiple facets of society, including parenting.

Doucleff resumes her tale of the hunt she and Rosy joined. At first, Doucleff had been trying to carry Rosy or hold her hand, which slowed them both down. Doucleff’s interpreter, David, advised Doucleff to let go of Rosy. She did, and they were better able to follow along.