We analyzed data on Ju/’hoansi hunter–gatherer foraging patterns and found that their movements between residence camps can
be modeled as a Lévy flight. The step lengths of their movements scale as a power law with an exponent
μ = 1.97. Their wait times (residence times) at the camps also scale as a power law (
μ = 1.45). A Lévy flight with step lengths
μ = 2 is an optimal search pattern for scarce, randomly located targets; thus, the Ju/’hoansi foraging pattern may approach
an optimal search in this area of sparse plant and animal resources. These findings affect the application of optimal foraging
theory to humans in anthropology and archaeology because they alter the way in which search and travel times should be quantified.
These results may also carry implications for the study of other patterns of human movement, such as demic diffusion and migration.
Key words Lévy flights - hunter–gatherers - optimal foraging theory - Ju/’hoansi