I?ve read references in several books (most recently, Daniel Quinn?s
Ishmael) to the ?fact? that ancient hunter-gatherers only worked three
hours a day and had abundant leisure time. I?m wondering: 1) What is
the basis of these claims? 2) Is that 3 hours spent gathering food or
3 hours doing all the things necessary for survival? 3) What is meant
by ?leisure? in this context? 4) If this is based on a study, does the
study have any scientific credibility according to today?s
anthropologists?

As I'm away from home right now, I cannot inform you of the exact
quote or page number, however, I recently finished reading Guns,
Germs, and Steel, a Pulitzer prize winning book, which discusses such
things as the evolution of the hunter gatherer societies.  The author
of that text seemed to believe that those people spent a much greater
amount of time per day than three hours.  I'm just pointing out that
not all sociologists/anthropologists would agree with Daniel Quinn. If
I get back home soon, I will locate the passage I'm referring to.

All the best,
Craig