Evenki microcosm

Book excerpt: This experimental book is about the Evenki hunter-gatherers of Siberia. Through innovative visual methodology it reveals that despite an old stereotype of that lifestyle being part of the humanity's past, it is probably in humanity's future. In six chapters filled with a flow of photographs that cover such topics as shamanic rituals, hunting, foraging, reindeer herding, the application of new technologies and jade mining, the authors show that hunter-gathering is not a primitive way of survival, but a complex and open-to-change philosophy of life that is embodied in everyday practices. Photographs allow readers to immerse themselves in the most profound layers of human experiences, and astute ethnographic and analytic summaries help them navigate the world of the taiga, where people are neither conquerors of natural forces nor passive consumers of resources. The book will be of interest both to social anthropologists and general readers curious about life in unfamiliar places.