Anthropology 330

1. Anthropology 330 Part 5: Subsistence and Economic Systems

2. What Is Subsistence? DEFINITION: The ways in which a society makes its living. Subsistence depends on: The Environmental Context Group Size Group Mobility Resource Availability Settlement Patterns The Complexity of Tools Used The Ways in Which Food Is Obtained

3. The Environmental Context • Climate • Resource Inventory • Geographical Distribution of Resources • Temporal Distribution of Resources

4. Cultural Ecology • Definition: The study of the relationship between a society and its natural environment.

5. Ecosystems • This Kayapo woman from Brazil knows not to kill the foraging ants in her garden because they actually weed and fertilize her crops.

6. Carrying Capacity • Definition The maximum number of people a given society can support, given the available resources. • Humans change the carrying capacity of their environments through culture

7. How Does Small Group Size Affect Settlement Patterns? • Small Populations • Small groups can move around in search of food better than large groups. • Sometimes small groups are sedentary as well

8. Small Group Settlement Patterns • Nomadic = moving camp frequently and not according to a seasonal plan. • Semi-nomadic = moving camp several times per year according to a seasonal plan • Dispersed Homesteads = family compounds that are evenly spread out over the territory in which the group lives.Small Populations

9. How Does Large Group Size Affect Settlement Patterns? Larger groups cannot move around in search of food and are more likely to be sedentary (to stay in one place). Large Group Settlement Patterns • Villages = 100’s of people living together in one place • Towns = 1000’s of people living together in one place • Cities = 10,000’s of people living together in one place

10. What Kinds of Tools Are There? There are five levels of tool complexity that are generally identified cross-culturally (Each category adds new types of tools to those in the preceding categories.) • Hand tools and carrying containers only (axes, machetes, digging sticks, etc.) • Pack animals (animals used to carry possessions and people only) • Draft animals and animal-drawn conveyances (animal drawn plows, carts, wagons, etc.) • Mechanization – (machinery outside of a factory setting) • Industrialization – (machinery in a factory setting)

11. What Kinds of Food Acquisition Strategies Are There? There are four general types of food acquisition strategies that are identified cross-culturally • Hunting and Gathering/Foraging = gathering plant foods and insects, hunting animals and fishing. • Pastoralism = raising herd animals such as goats, sheep, cattle, camels, yaks, reindeer, llama, etc. • Horticulture = raising plant crops using hand tools only • Agriculture = raising plant crops using anything more sophistocated than hand tools

12. What Kinds of Agriculture Are There? There are three general types of agriculture that are identified cross-culturally • Extensive Agriculture = farming with draft animals or other techniques that require massive amounts of human labor. • Intensive agriculture = Farming using mechanization that reduces the amount of human labor required to produce a crop. • Industrial agriculture = corporate farming that produces huge ratios of crop to human labor input.

13. What is a Subsistence Technique? A subsistence technique is a strategy for making a living that is characterized by population size, tools used, settlement pattern, and ways of obtaining food. There are four general subsistence techniques named after the four food acquisition strategies. • Hunting and Gathering/Foraging • Pastoralism • Horticulture • Agriculture

14. What is Hunting and Gathering/Foraging? Hunting and gathering (sometimes called foraging) means using naturally occurring plant and animal resources without caring for or replacing them. These groups are usually characterized by: • Small populations • Usually mobile - Nomadic or semi-nomadic • Hand tools and carrying containers only • Includes gathering plant and insect resources, hunting animals and/or fishing • No surplus – surplus left in nature to grow and increase natural food supplies

15. Historically Known Foragers

16. Ju/’hoansi • Despite popular misconceptions, foragers such as the Ju/’hoansi do not live on the brink of starvation.

17. Inuit • To survive in their harsh environment, the Inuit from Nunavut, Canada, have had to develop a number of creative hunting strategies, including the recent adoption of snowmobiles.

18. What is Pastoralism? Pastoralism means making your living primarily from raising herd animals. Pastoralists live their lives according to the needs of their animals, and trade their animal products (milk, meat, hides) for other things they need. These societies are usually characterized by: • Populations in the 100’s • Usually mobile - Nomadic or semi-nomadic • Pack animals carry their possessions as they move their animals to better pasture. • Breed herd animals for milk, meat, butter, yoghurt, hides and blood. • No surplus – surplus is kept alive and breeding in the form of the herd.

19. Social Functions of Cattle • The use of livestock by pastoralists not only for food and its byproducts but also for purposes such as marriage, religion, and social relationships. • Stock friendship • A gift of livestock from one man to another to strengthen their friendship.

20. Pastoralists: The Nuer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0VBnrIkAtA

21. Neolithic RevolutionFood Producing Societies • Transition from food collection to food production began 13,000 years ago • Humans began to cultivate crops and keep herds of animals. • Humans were able to produce food rather than rely only on what nature produced.

22. Changes Resulting From Food Production • Increased population. • Populations became more sedentary. • Stimulated a greater division of labor. • Decline in overall health reduced the life expectancy.

23. What is Horticulture? Horticulture means raising plant crops as a main food source using hand tools like digging sticks, machetes, axes and hoes. The most common form is “slash and burn” or “swidden” horticulture, where brush is cut, fields are burned off and seeds or cuttings are planted by hand. These societies are usually characterized by: Populations in the 100’s to 1000’s • Usually sedentary - Dispersed homesteads, or villages • Hand tools only • Domesticated plants are raised, with the specific plants depending on the area of the world – sweet potato, yam, taro, bananas, corn, etc. • Sometimes surplus, but if so, everyone produces the same things in surplus (e.g. all surplus is corn)

24. Shifting Cultivation (Swidden, Slash and Burn) • A form of plant cultivation in which seeds are planted in the fertile soil prepared by cutting and burning the natural growth; relatively short periods of cultivation are followed by longer periods of fallow.

25. What is Agriculture? Agriculture means raising plants using anything more sophistocated than hand tools. This includes plows, draft animals, irrigation, chemical fertilizers, mechanization and industrialization. These societies are usually characterized by: • Populations in the 10,000’s and up • Usually sedentary – towns and cities • Plows, draft animals, irrigation, mechanization, industrialization • Domesticated plants are raised in huge quantities by a small segment of the society. • Large surplus – used to allow economic specialists to do things other than produce food.

26. Extensive Agriculture: Rice Cultivation Rice Farming in Indonesia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c246fZ-7z1w

27. Industrialized Food Production • Uses more powerful sources of energy. • Requires: • High levels of technology (such as tractors and combines) • Mobile labor force • Complex system of markets

28. Study Guide Cultural Ecology Subsistence Environmental context Settlement Patterns Nomadic Semi-nomadic Dispersed Homesteads Villages Towns Cities Hand tools Pack animals Draught animals Mechanization Industrialization Hunting & Gathering Foraging Pastoralism Horticulture Agriculture Intensive agriculture Extensive agriculture Industrial agriculture