On Sharing and Work.

The article presents a discussion of reasons for the persistent vitality and wide appeal of the characterization of hunter-gatherers as representatives of original affluence. It draws attention to explanatory gains which may come from connecting variation in substinence effort within as well as among hunting and gathering communities. It points out that pattern ethnographers commonly call reciprocity is rarely literally reciprocal, which explains that the label is misleading. It emphasizes that the lack of connection between giving and getting which makes insurance models inapplicable to sharing patterns provides a reason for the features of foraging economies.