Hill, Kim, and A. Magdalena Hurtado. 1996. Ache Life History: The Ecology and Demography of a Foraging People. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

“In length and quality, if perhaps not quite in breadth, the research reported equals the two better-known long-term studies of hunter-gatherer ecology, that of the !Kung (Zu/hoasi), carried bout by Richard Lee and others, and the more recent Harvard Ituri Forest project. . .a magnificent achievement, and a landmark in at least three distinct fields: anthropological demography, human evolutionary ecology, and hunter-gatherer studies” (E.A. Smith review in Evolutionary Anthropology 5: 181-185)

Orlove, Ben. 2002. Lines in the Water: Nature and Culture at Lake Titicaca. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

"Anthropologist Ben Orlove’s memoir of his work in the highlands of Peru amounts very nearly to a love story, a scientist’s paean to villagers who for centuries have preserved their culture. For nearly 30 years, Orlove. . .has studied life in the remote fishing villages that lie on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the vast and ancient body of water set high in the Andes. . .a compelling profile of an anthropologist immersed in his work" (Paul Trachtman, Smithsonian Magazine, February 2003). back to top

Sillitoe, Paul. 1996. A Place Against Time: Land and Environment in the Papua New Guinea Highlands. London: Harwood Publishers.

“This book is a perfect example of what environmental anthropology can be: ethnographically rich, environmentally sophisticated, and sensitive to the tenuous condition of so many of the people throughout the world whose knowledge of the environment has so much to offer to our future on this planet” (E. Moran review, in American Anthropologist 99(4): 844-845).

Smith, Eric Alden. 1991. Inujjuamuit Foraging Strategies: Evolutionary Ecology of an Arctic Hunting Economy. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

Solid ethnography coupled with detailed, quantitative analysis of foraging and its place in the economy of the Inuit of Inujjuaq, Smith’s book is an excellent example of the power of problem-oriented, ecological anthropology. A classic of foraging theory; a classic of Inuit and arctic studies. back to top

Stephens, Stanley F. 1993. Claiming the High Ground: Sherpas, Subsistence, and Environmental Change in the Highest Himalaya. Berkeley: University of California Press.

“. . .an excellent study of the relationship between Sherpas of Khumbu and their environment. . based on extensive and meticulous fieldwork. . .a model of comprehensive cultural-ecological analysis. The use of a historical perspective makes the book particularly rich and illuminating. . .” (S. Ortner review, in American Anthropologist 96: 441-443).

Stone, Glenn D. 1996. Settlement Ecology: The Social and Spatial Organization of Kofyar Agriculture. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.

“. . .a fine example of the best work in this field [human ecology]. . .traces 40 years of frontier agrarian settlement by the Kofyar farmers of central Nigeria that the late Robert McC. Netting first wrote about in the 1960s. . .a detailed, well-organized, and methodologically groundbreaking analysis of what has happened to Kofyar agriculture and settlement patterns as these farmers have migrated out of the hills of the Jos Plateau. . .” (from C. Besteman review, Current Anthropology 38(5): 992-994). back to top

Wilk, Richard R. 1991. Household Ecology: Economic Change and Domestic Life among the Kekchi Maya in Belize. Tucson: U. of Arizona Press.

“Wilk combines a well-developed case study of households among the lowland Maya with an extended theoretical discussion of various aspects of households. . .He argues that . . .variation is the result of different systems of production and consumption, which in turn result from a variety of factors including population pressure on land, ecological variation, differential access to markets, and organization of agricultural labor.” (J.M. Acheson review, American Anthropologist 96: 1017).

Williams, D.M. 2002. Beyond Great Walls: Environment, Identity, and Development of the Chinese Grasslands of Inner Mongolia. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.

“. . .a remarkable tour de force. . .examin[ing] land degradation, conflicting discourses of landscape dividing the Mongol and Chinese populations as well as experts and policy makers, land use in cultural context, and the physical and social consequences of enclosure. . .an outstanding book which brings into focus complex global and local social interactions which shape the Mongolian grasslands. . .It is a delight to read and voids recourse to the tired jargon that so often distinguishes critiques of decollectivization“ (Daniel Bates review, in Human Ecology 31(2): 328-330). back to top

Zimmerer, Karl. 1996. Changing Fortunes: Biodiversity and Peasant Livelihood in the Peruvian Andes. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

“. . .a scholarly gem that simultaneously fits comfortably into several spheres of knowledge: geography, Latin American Studies, agriculture, and mountain studies. The breadth represented by this work comes in part from the author’s grounding in biology; sensitivity to Andean culture and local peasant society; and a synthesizing perspective on space, time and ecology. . .” (D.W. Gade review, Mountain Research and Development 17: 378-379).

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