Abstract

In this paper we present the Hunter-Gatherer Game, a computer simulation of an environment where the individual and group survival depends on their ability to capture a prey or to find edible vegetables. The instrument is based on the Darwinian Hunter-Gatherer Theory stating that, during the Palaeolithic age, natural selection designed different gender preferences for foraging strategies (hunting in men and gathering in women), which are still sculpted in our modern brains. At present we are using the Hunter-Gatherer Game in order to experimentally test the above-mentioned theory, even though it also encompasses a number of potential applications.