A symposium presented by: 

Robert L. Bettinger, University of California Davis

and

Christopher Morgan, Utah State University 

Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology

Beijing, Peoples Republic of China

August 23-25, 2010

9:00 am, Room 602

Drs. Bettinger and Morgan will present a symposium on current methods and theoretical approaches used in modeling prehistoric foraging behavior. Dr. Bettinger will present topics relating to the theme “Does Culture Matter?” Dr. Morgan will discuss topics relating to the theme “Stone Age Economics”. 　Combined they will present models derived from behavioral and evolutionary ecology, culture transmission theory, hunter-gatherer case studies and data from the Western Loess Plateau in Gansu Province.  Each of the models in the symposium deliver alternative ways of predicting, modeling and testing hypotheses about the evolution of human foraging behavior using archaeological materials.

August 23: Behavioral and Evolutionary Ecologies

Bettinger: The Diet Breadth Model

Morgan: Central Place Foraging

August 24: Two Approaches to Prehistoric Economics

Bettinger: Front Versus Backloaded Strategies

Morgan: Risk and Uncertainty

August 25: How Culture Affects Foraging

Bettinger: Frequency Dependent Coordination

Morgan: The Middle and Upper Paleolithic on the Western Loess Plateau

Robert Bettinger is Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Davis. He is a world-renown expert on hunter-gatherer archaeology and the author of numerous articles, monographs and books on the subject.

Christopher Morgan is Assistant Professor and Graduate Director of the Anthropology Program at Utah State University. He is an expert on the archaeology of hunter-gatherers living in marginal environments and has been published in several international research journals.