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Baobab

The Hadza of Tanzania and the Baobab as Humanity's Tree of Life

  • Book
  • © 2023

Overview

Authors:
  1. John Rashford

    1. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, College of Charleston, Charleston, USA

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  • Provides documentation for Baobab's global cultural significance
  • Elucidates the popular interest in Baobab identified as the "tree of life"
  • Fully describes Baobab for its food potential suitable for dry environments

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About this book

Modern humans, descendants of a founding population that separated from chimpanzees some five to eight million years ago, are today the only living representative of a branching group of African apes called hominins. Because of its extraordinary size and shape, the baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) has long been identified as the most striking tree of Africa’s mosaic savanna, the landscape generally regarded as the environment of hominin evolution. This book makes the case for identifying the baobab as the tree of life in the hunter-gatherer adaptation that was the economic foundation of hominin evolution. The argument is based on the significance of the baobab as a resource-rich environment for the Hadza of northeastern Tanzania, who continue to be successful hunter-gatherers of the African savanna.


Keywords

Table of contents (25 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxix
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  3. Theoretical Framework: Societal Specialization and Bipedality

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 25-25
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    2. Hominin Adaptation as the Development of a Gendered Forager Division of Labor

      • John Rashford
      Pages 27-33

    3. Bipedality as the Outcome of the Multidimensional Selective Pressure of the Developing Forager Way of Life

      • John Rashford
      Pages 35-44

  4. Material Culture and Technology

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 45-45
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    2. Africa’s Premier Fiber Tree

      • John Rashford
      Pages 47-52

    3. The Baobab and Containers

      • John Rashford
      Pages 53-60

    4. The Baobab and Fire in Hominin Evolution

      • John Rashford
      Pages 61-80

  5. Environmental Considerations

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 81-81
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    2. The Baobab and Hadza Acquisition, Management, and Use of Water

      • John Rashford
      Pages 83-107

    3. Baobab Seasonality

      • John Rashford
      Pages 109-119

  6. Hadza Baobab Resources: Food, Health, and Exchange Benefits

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 121-121
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    2. The Hadza’s Preeminent Fruit Tree

      • John Rashford
      Pages 123-136

    3. Baobab Beverages

      • John Rashford
      Pages 137-146

    4. Africa’s Honey Tree

      • John Rashford
      Pages 147-159

    5. The Baobab and Birds

      • John Rashford
      Pages 161-197

    6. The Hadza Diet and the Baobab as a Source of Other Animal Foods

      • John Rashford
      Pages 199-219
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Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Sociology and Anthropology, College of Charleston, Charleston, USA

    John Rashford

About the author

Prof. Dr. John Rashford is a retired professor emeritus of the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina, who received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the City University of New York.  His research focuses on the ethnobotany of the Caribbean with a particular interest in the cultural importance of trees.

 

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Baobab

  • Book Subtitle: The Hadza of Tanzania and the Baobab as Humanity's Tree of Life

  • Authors: John Rashford

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26470-2

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life Sciences, Biomedical and Life Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-26469-6Published: 29 June 2023

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-26472-6Due: 30 July 2023

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-26470-2Published: 28 June 2023

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXIX, 382

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations, 5 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Plant Anatomy/Development, Plant Ecology, Plant Physiology, Evolutionary Biology, Anthropology, Anthropology

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