First recorded use of cage traps by the Tanzanian Hadza

While hunting is a critical subsistence strategy for the Tanzanian Hadza, reports of trapping have traditionally been minimal. Snare trapping of small ungulates and terrestrial birds is noted in rare cases, but most meat is acquired through encounter hunting, ambush hunting or nest predation. Except for these sporadic reports of snaring, other types of trapping are absent and cage trapping has, to our knowledge, never before been documented in over 100 years of Hadza ethnography. In this brief report, we describe the use of baited cage traps, for trapping small birds, owned by two households and manufactured by a single Hadza individual. We describe how the traps are designed and how they operate. We explore their (limited) prevalence, and the origin of the design, which was transmitted, cross-culturally, via interactions with the Nyiramba tribe. We then discuss the contexts in which these traps were being used, and speculate on the reasons that the technology has never been reported among the Hadza before. We consider the intersections between behavioural ecology and cultural evolution, and the importance of synthetic approaches for understanding technological change. We also briefly consider the relevance of these findings for understanding the deep past.