Abstract

Play is a universal feature of human childhood, but what children play at, and whom they play with, depends on the cultural setting they inhabit. While many authors note that much of hunter-gatherer children’s time is spent in play, few have explored the structure and function of their play. Using ethnographic and quantitative data, I outline how culture, subsistence, and demography contribute to how hunter-gatherer children play, and what they learn during this activity. By placing hunter-gatherer children’s play in a comparative perspective, I then argue that children’s play is at the center of cultural transformation in the past and present.

About the speaker

Sheina Lew-Levy is a PhD student in the department of psychology at University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on children’s learning in hunting and gathering societies. Sheina’s interests include cross-cultural research, experimental archaeology, evolutionary theory and child development.  

Sheina Lew-Levy is currrently a guest researcher at Department of Archaeology, AU.

Link: Sheina Lew-Levy, University of Cambridge