The Value of a Play-Filled Childhood in Development of the Hunter-Gatherer Individual

Abstract

Abstract Children in band hunter-gatherer cultures, wherever they have been studied, were free to play on their own, essentially from dawn to dusk, every day. This chapter describes the cultural context for such play—which included free age mixing among children and adolescents and direct exposure to essentially all adult activities—and explains how, through free play, children acquired the cultural skills, social values, and personal character traits essential to adult success. In particular, the article explains how play, by its very nature, promotes cooperation, egalitarianism, democratic decision making, personal autonomy, and self-control—all of which were key hunter-gatherer values.

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