While browsing a site dedicated to Daniel Quinn (Ishmael, Beyond=
 Civilization,
and more), I came across this page

http://www.ishmael.com/Education/Readings/

and this recommended reading...

John Gowdy, editor. Limited Wants, Unlimited Means: A Reader on Hunter-Gatherer
Economics and the Environment. $27.00 from Island Press, available soon.
Comment: For more than 99% of our history, human life has meant
hunting-gathering life. If you want to know how this life worked, you can spend
two or three years intensively browsing the anthropology shelves of your local
library or you can read Limited Wants, Unlimited Means: A Reader on
Hunter-Gatherer Economics and the Environment. John Gowdy's book is a treasure,
and I recommend it without reservation to all who want to know more about this
tragically-neglected subject.