Summary: | Includes abstract. === Includes bibliographical references. === The term ‘bushmen’ is used generically to refer to the Khoisan. Although the term is still used in several countries in the Southern African region (SADC), it is considered derogatory by some. Culturally the Khoisan are divided into the hunter-gatherer San (originally a derogatory term used by the Khoi), and the pastoral Khoi (Barnard, 1992). Anthropologists from the West adopted the term ‘San’ extensively in the 1970’s, and this is now the preferred term in academic circles. This is a study in economic anthropology which seeks to fully understand the complexity of the economics of a hunter gatherer people in the Kgalagadi area. Despite the change in the lifestyle and values of the San people, they have and continue to provide valuable information in the fields of anthropology and genetics (see Thomas, 1958, 1989, 2006; Lee, 1976, 1979; Barnard, 1992; Hogan, 2008).
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