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Elizabeth Marshall Thomas (born September 13, 1931) [1] is an American author. She has published fiction and non-fiction books and articles on animal behavior, Paleolithic life, and the !Kung Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert.
Thomas was born to anthropologist Lorna Marshall and Laurence K. Marshall, co-founder of the Raytheon Corporation. She is the sister of ethnographic filmmaker John Marshall. [2] She was raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts and attended Abbot Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. [1]
After beginning undergraduate studies at Smith College, Thomas took a break to travel in Africa with her family and later completed a degree in English from Radcliffe College. [2]
Between 1950 and 1956, she took part in three expeditions to live with and study the Ju/'hoansi (!Kung Bushmen) of the Kalahari Desert in Namibia and Botswana. [3] During these trips, Thomas kept a journal which she later drew on when writing her first book, The Harmless People. [1] She later drew on this experience in her fiction, depicting the life of paleolithic hunter gatherers in the novels Reindeer Moon [4] and The Animal Wife.
A popular success and New York Times bestseller, [2] her book The Hidden Life of Dogs [5] also drew criticism from some in the scientific and dog training communities for Thomas' observational methods and analysis. [2] [6] Thomas wrote a follow-up book, The Social Life of Dogs: The Grace of Canine Company, as well as books on feline and deer behavior. She also contributes, along with Sy Montgomery, to a column called "Tamed/Untamed" in the Boston Globe .
Ms. Thomas has long made her home in Peterborough, New Hampshire. With proceeds from her bestselling book about dogs, she donated land for Peterborough's first town beach at Cunningham Pond, where canines of town residents are always welcome. She served on the town's Select Board for 15 years. [7]
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The San peoples, or Bushmen, are the members of the indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures of southern Africa, and the oldest surviving cultures of the region. Their recent ancestral territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa. They speak, or their ancestors spoke, languages of the Khoe, Tuu and Kxʼa language families, and are seen by outsiders as a people only in contrast to neighboring pastoralists such as the Khoekhoe and descendants of more recent waves of immigration such as the Bantu, Europeans and Asians.
Dog breeding is the practice of mating selected dogs with the intention of maintaining or producing specific qualities and characteristics. When dogs reproduce without such human intervention, their offspring's characteristics are determined by natural selection, while "dog breeding" refers specifically to the artificial selection of dogs, in which dogs are intentionally bred by their owners. Breeding relies on the science of genetics, hence a breeder who is knowledgeable on canine genetics, health, and the intended purpose of the dogs attempts to breed suitable dogs.
Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell was a British medical missionary to Newfoundland, who wrote books on his work and other topics.
Scott O'Dell was an American writer of 26 novels for young people, along with three novels for adults and four nonfiction books. He wrote historical fiction, primarily, including several children's novels about historical California and Mexico. For his contribution as a children's writer he received the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1972, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books. He received The University of Southern Mississippi Medallion in 1976 and the Catholic Libraries Association Regina Medal in 1978.
The ǃKung are one of the San peoples who live mostly on the western edge of the Kalahari desert, Ovamboland, and Botswana. The names ǃKung (ǃXun) and Ju are variant words for 'people', preferred by different ǃKung groups. This band level society used traditional methods of hunting and gathering for subsistence up until the 1970s. Today, the great majority of ǃKung people live in the villages of Bantu pastoralists and European ranchers.
Jan Brett is an American illustrator and writer of children's picture books. Her colorful, detailed depictions of a wide variety of animals and human cultures range from Scandinavia to Africa. Her titles include The Mitten, The Hat, and Gingerbread Baby. She has adapted or retold traditional stories such as the Gingerbread Man and Goldilocks and has illustrated classics such as "The Owl and the Pussycat."
Kirsten Bakis is an American novelist.
The dog is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from extinct gray wolves, and the gray wolf is the dog's closest living relative. The dog was the first species to be domesticated by humans. Experts estimate that hunter-gatherers domesticated dogs more than 15,000 years ago in Oberkassel, Bonn, which was before the development of agriculture. Due to their long association with humans, dogs have expanded to a large number of domestic individuals and gained the ability to thrive on a starch-rich diet that would be inadequate for other canids.
The Polish Hound, commonly known as Ogar Polski, is a breed of hunting dog indigenous to Poland. The Polish Hound has a keen sense of smell. This heightened sense combined with the endurance needed to hunt in harsh environments led to its use in hunting, while its stature made it popular with Polish nobility.
Patricia Bean McConnell Ph.D, CAAB Emeritus was born November 16, 1948. She is an Ethologist who consulted with pet dog and cat owners for over thirty years regarding serious behavioral problems, has given seminars on companion animal behavior both domestically and internationally, and has written several books on training and behavior relating to their dogs. She has been invited to speak all over the world about canine behavior and training.
In the culture of the San, an indigenous people of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Angola, healers administer a wide range of practices, from oral remedies containing plant and animal material, making cuts on the body and rubbing in 'potent' substances, inhaling smoke of smouldering organic matter like certain twigs or animal dung, wearing parts of animals or 'jewellery' that 'makes them strong.' Anecdotal records reveal that the Khoikhoi and San people have used Sceletium tortuosum since ancient times as an essential part of the indigenous culture and materia medica. The trance dance is one of the most distinctive features of San culture.
John Kennedy Marshall was an American anthropologist and acclaimed documentary filmmaker best known for his work in Namibia recording the lives of the Juǀʼhoansi.
Yannick Murphy is an American novelist and short story writer. She is a recipient of the Whiting Award, National Endowment for the Arts award, Chesterfield Screenwriting award, MacDowell Colony fellowship, and the Laurence L. & Thomas Winship/PEN New England Award.
Lorna Marshall was an anthropologist who in the 1950s, 60s and 70s lived among and wrote about the previously unstudied !Kung people of the Kalahari Desert.
Chaser was a Border Collie with the largest tested memory of any non-human animal. Chaser worked with Professor John W. Pilley, at his home in Spartanburg, South Carolina, from eight weeks old, until Pilley's death in June 2018. Pilley spent that time training her in a formal research project. Chaser could identify and retrieve 1,022 toys by name.
Dorothea Frances Bleek was a South African-born German anthropologist and philologist known for her research on the Bushmen of southern Africa.
Salty and Roselle were two guide dogs who were with their owners in the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks in New York City. They each guided their owners out of the burning towers before the buildings collapsed, feats which were later recognized when they were awarded the Dickin Medal by the British charity the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals. Roselle went on to be posthumously named American Hero Dog of the Year 2011 by American Humane, and has a book written about her.
The San religion is the traditional religion and mythology of the San people. It is poorly attested due to their interactions with Christianity.
Jennifer Skiff is an American author, journalist and television producer, best known for writing inspirational books and animal welfare diplomacy.
