Karen Dean

The People of the Dobe: A Glimpse of Humanity in the Past, Present,

and Future

After studying cases of primitive tribes in remote areas across

cultures one in particular sparked my interest. 'The People of the Dobe:
A Glimpse of Humanity in the Past, Present, and Future would compel
students to both reflect on the power of western culture and disparity
of human nature.
Richard B. Lee, a notable anthropologist from the late 20th
century, studied and lived with the San, a remote tribe located within
the Dobe region of the Kalahari Desert. In the 1960s, their culture
thrived under low rates of homicide, virtual equality between men and
women, and independent sustenance, despite their technological
inferiority to that of their western counterparts. Today, the San live
dependent on the economic and medical opportunities brought by
neighboring commoners, who were exposed to more modern values
earlier in history. The invasion of these foreign cultures have forced the
San to adapt and abandon some of their key values, in turn leaving
them in poverty and inequality.
Further study of the people from the Dobe would invite students
to weigh the impact western forces have had on primitive societies,
which could mirror our beginnings as a society. Lees early work
provides unique insights into the humanity and psychology of those

Karen Dean
unaffected by more modern factors most hold today. Were Lees
studies worth the exposure and degradation of this rich culture if it
provides us invaluable information regarding our past, present, and
future? Are western cultures more progressive than the Sans, despite
their significant social advantages? Students would question and
compare the lifestyles of the San in relation to ours, and how we could
learn from each other to better our future.