While studies of San children have attained the peculiar status of having delineated the prototype for hunter-gatherer childhood, relatively few serious ethnographic studies of San children have been conducted since an initial flurry of research in the 1960s and 1970s. Based on the author's long-term field research among several San groups of Southern Africa, this book reconsiders hunter-gatherer childhood using "play" as a key concept. Playfulness pervades the intricate practices of caregiver-child interactions among the San: immediately after birth, mothers have extremely close contact with their babies. In addition to the mother's attentions, other people around the babies actively facilitate gymnastic behavior to soothe them. These distinctive caregiving behaviors indicate a loving, indulgent attitude towards infants. This also holds true for several language genres of the San that are used in early vocal communication. Children gradually become involved in various playful activities in groups of children of multiple ages, which is the major locus of their attachment after weaning; these playful activities show important similarities to the household and subsistence activities carried out by adults. Rejuvenating studies of San children and hunter-gatherer childhood and childrearing practices, this book aims to examine these issues in detail, ultimately providing a new perspective for the understanding of human sociality.

While studies of San children have attained the peculiar status of having delineated the prototype for hunter-gatherer childhood, relatively few serious ethnographic studies of San children have been conducted since an initial flurry of research in the 1960s and 1970s. Based on the author's long-term field research among several San groups of Southern Africa, this book reconsiders hunter-gatherer childhood using "play" as a key concept. Playfulness pervades the intricate practices of caregiver-child interactions among the San: immediately after birth, mothers have extremely close contact with their babies. In addition to the mother's attentions, other people around the babies actively facilitate gymnastic behavior to soothe them. These distinctive caregiving behaviors indicate a loving, indulgent attitude towards infants. This also holds true for several language genres of the San that are used in early vocal communication. Children gradually become involved in various playful activities in groups of children of multiple ages, which is the major locus of their attachment after weaning; these playful activities show important similarities to the household and subsistence activities carried out by adults. Rejuvenating studies of San children and hunter-gatherer childhood and childrearing practices, this book aims to examine these issues in detail, ultimately providing a new perspective for the understanding of human sociality.

This book focuses on mathematical theory and numerical simulation related to various aspects of continuum mechanics, such as fracture mechanics, elasticity, plasticity, pattern dynamics, inverse problems, optimal shape design, material design, and disaster estimation related to earthquakes. Because these problems have become more important in engineering and industry, further development of mathematical study of them is required for future applications. Leading researchers with profound knowledge of mathematical analysis from the fields of applied mathematics, physics, seismology, engineering, and industry provide the contents of this book. They help readers to understand that mathematical theory can be applied not only to different types of industry, but also to a broad range of industrial problems including materials, processes, and products.

This book focuses on mathematical theory and numerical simulation related to various aspects of continuum mechanics, such as fracture mechanics, elasticity, plasticity, pattern dynamics, inverse problems, optimal shape design, material design, and disaster estimation related to earthquakes. Because these problems have become more important in engineering and industry, further development of mathematical study of them is required for future applications. Leading researchers with profound knowledge of mathematical analysis from the fields of applied mathematics, physics, seismology, engineering, and industry provide the contents of this book. They help readers to understand that mathematical theory can be applied not only to different types of industry, but also to a broad range of industrial problems including materials, processes, and products.

The !Xun are a San people living in the Kalahari Desert in Namibia, Botswana, and in Angola. In this book, the cultural and ecological foundations of ethnicity of the !Xun provide a case study for an intensive regional structural comparison of Ju societies. Long known to Western Europe as the 'Bushmen', the San consist of various groups distinguished by language, locale, and practice. Narratives on San Ethnicity focuses on the !Xun who have lived in north-central Namibia for centuries, and it adopts a life story approach to understand the lived histories of the people. The book looks at inter-ethnic relationships and the multi-dimensional associations with neighbouring groups, particularly the Owambo and Akhoe. It scrutinises kinship and naming terminologies, transitions of ethnicity, the interplay between ethnicity and familial/kin relationships, and the reorganisation of environmental features that effect child socialisation. Narratives on San Ethnicity provides a valuable research perspective in San studies and in the emerging anthropology of their life-world. It is a significant addition to the small body of anthropological studies on the !Xun.