Genetics, Archaeology, and Holocene Hunter-Gatherers

[Euclides]

Genetics, archaeology, and holocene hunter-gatherers.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Sep 14;96(19):10562-3.

[RusViking]

Genetics, archaeology, and holocene hunter-gatherers.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Sep 14;96(19):10562-3.

Appreciate post.

[Agrippa]

In short, it is hard to see recent hunter-gatherers overall as
either genetically more isolated or demographically more
fragile than those of the Pleistocene simply as a function of the
spread of agriculture. Abandoning them as a source of demographic
insight on the distant past seems premature. It is better
to assess the utility of each population as a potential analogue
independently rather than to accept or reject them all categorically.

I think thats basically right and its wrong to just see it black & white. It depends on the degree of isolation, the natural ressources which are available and the subsistence and cultural-reproductive pattern in detail.

Isolated, with low energy levels living h-g with extremely low reproductive rates and "cautious" cultural restrictions are imo not comparable to the expansive h-g groups of the Holocene.