Hunters, Herders, and Hamburgers - by Richard Bulliet (Paperback)

About the Book

Richard W. Bulliet engagingly recounts the dynamic relationship between humans and animals from prehistory to the present. Bulliet explores four stages in the history of the human-animal relationship-separation, predomesticity, domesticity, and postdomesticity. He begins with the question of when and why humans began to consider themselves distinct from other species and concludes with the use of species as raw materials for various animal-product industries. Bulliet discusses the impact of social and technological developments and changing philosophical, religious, and aesthetic viewpoints and closes with a probing look at our current era of postdomesticity, in which many people remain dependent on animal products, though they have no involvement with producing animals. By considering the shifting roles of domesticated animals in human society, as well as their place in the social imagination, Bulliet reveals the different ways various cultures have reinforced, symbolized, and rationalized their relations with animals.

Book Synopsis

Richard W. Bulliet has long been a leading figure in the study of human-animal relations, and in his newest work, Hunters, Herders, and Hamburgers, he offers a sweeping and engaging perspective on this dynamic relationship from prehistory to the present. By considering the shifting roles of donkeys, camels, cows, and other domesticated animals in human society, as well as their place in the social imagination, Bulliet reveals the different ways various cultures have reinforced, symbolized, and rationalized their relations with animals.

Bulliet identifies and explores four stages in the history of the human-animal relationship-separation, predomesticity, domesticity, and postdomesticity. He begins with the question of when and why humans began to consider themselves distinct from other species and continues with a fresh look at how a few species became domesticated. He demonstrates that during the domestic era many species fell from being admired and even worshipped to being little more than raw materials for various animal-product industries. Throughout the work, Bulliet discusses how social and technological developments and changing philosophical, religious, and aesthetic viewpoints have shaped attitudes toward animals.

Our relationship to animals continues to evolve in the twenty-first century. Bulliet writes, "We are today living through a new watershed in human-animal relations, one that appears likely to affect our material, social, and imaginative lives as profoundly as did the original emergence of domestic species." The United States, Britain, and a few other countries are leading a move from domesticity, marked by nearly universal familiarity with domestic species, to an era of postdomesticity, in which dependence on animal products continues but most people have no contact with producing animals. Elective vegetarianism and the animal-liberation movement have combined with new attitudes toward animal science, pets, and the presentation of animals in popular culture to impart a distinctive moral, psychological, and spiritual tone to postdomestic life.

Review Quotes

A precisely researched, logically presented, and candidly intriguing apologia for humankind's inconsistent relationship with animals.-- "Booklist"

Bulliet has an impressive knowledge of archaeozoology and the history of human relationships with animals.--Juliet Clutton-Brock "Times Literary Supplement"

Bulliet's writing is irreverent seasoned with humor, and sprinkled with pop references that draw in nonscholarly readers.--Scott Carlson "Utne"

His book presents a provocative look at human-animal relations that offers a heady but highly readable mix of anthropology...environmentalism and philosophy.-- "Publishers Weekly"

The book is notable for many stimulating and original ideas.--Linda Wiener "Science Books & Films"

This book is a welcome addition to the literature... We need more such works.--Edmund Russell "Technology and Culture"

This is an original, well-written and fascinating work, a riveting read.--Barbara Noske "Anthropological Forum"

This provocative thesis is arresting in its originality.--Glynis Ridley "Washington Post"

You may never look at a pet, or a burger, in quite the same way again.--Mark Thompson "Ecologist"

About the Author

Richard W. Bulliet is professor of history at Columbia University. He is the author of The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization; Islam: The View from the Edge; and The Camel and The Wheel and the editor of The Columbia History of the Twentieth Century.