EVOLUTION OF HUNTER-GATHERER STRATEGIES WITH A GENETICALLY INSPIRED ALGORITHM

We address the following: Are there several optimal strategies for a h unter-gatherer society in a given environment, in which the society ha s an evolving level of technology and/or skills? We use the Genetic Al gorithm, with point mutations, to facilitate the search for these stra tegies. We find that, in a generous environment, several optimal strat egies are possible; there is no unique optimal strategy. We are now in a position, with the Genetic Algorithm, to assess different approache s to resource exploitation and the role of contingency.