Title: Classic study of breakdown of a society under severe stress
Review: The Mountain People is a classic study of the disintegration of a tribal society under severe stress from drought and climate change. Everyone should read this book to see how fragile, even the strongest, social ties are when a society is beset by catastrophic changes. The drought like conditions produced a famine where nobody had enough food. In prosperous times, an Ik family gave a feast when one of the family died. In the famine situation, families buried their dead secretly at night in order to avoid the necessity of giving a feast. Instead of sharing everything communally it became a matter of individual survival: when someone found some food he would eat it immediately. Reminds you of the anarchy of Lord of the Flies, although not so violent.
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