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Week 9: Anthropology 11--Introduction to Cultural AnthropologyLecture Notes for Chapter 6:Patterns of Subsistence (148-179) |
Email: wolfordj@msx.umsl.edu
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The important questions Haviland
cites for you to consider while reading this chapter:
What is adaptation?How do humans adapt?
What sorts of adaptation have humans achieved through the ages?
Notes for William A. Haviland,Cultural Anthropology, 10th edition: |
Chapter 6: Patterns of Subsistence (148-179) |
Adaptation (150-165) |
| page 150 | adaptation | a process by which organisms achieve beneficial adjustments to an available environment and the results of that processthe characteristics of organisms that fit them to the particular set of conditions of the environment in which they are generally found |
| page 150 | horticulture | cultivation of crops using hand tools such as digging sticks or hoes |
developing a consistent supply of food is a basic survival strategy for people
such strategies are cultural, and represent humans' superior survival capabilities over other creatures
Cultural adaptation
Tsembaga of Papua New Guinea
pigs provide one of the few sources of protein for them
pigs also are food- and labor-intensive to maintain
specifically, they require a lot of land to maintain
accordingly, the Tsembagas fight among themselves for the land on which to raise the prestigious pigs
rituals mark the end of the crisis
eating the pig ensures the ingestion of protein necessary in times of crisis
the whole cycle illustrates the balance kept between people, the physical environment, and the culture of animals
sickle-cell anemia
families with this trait tended to be selected out, since they died and were anemic
the trait became adaptive when people adapted to new cultural tradition?slash-and-burn (or swidden) horticulture
malaria spread
people with a single sickle-cell parent adapted better than people with two normal parents
these sickle-cells were being eliminated by the spleen, which likewise eliminated the parasites that caused the malaria
so with the cultural adaptation
arose a greater survival of a previously maladaptive genetic type
THE UNIT OF ADAPTATION (152-153) |
| page 152 | ecosystem | a system, or a functioning whole, composed of both the physical environment and the organisms living within it |
human ecology: concerned with detailed microstudies of human ecosystems
economic ones, e.g.ósuch as the Tsembaga pig rituals
EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTATION (153-154) |
| preadaptations | in culture, existing customs which, by chance, have potential for a new cultural adaptation |
originally peaceful
hunters and gatherers
shamans were primary powermongers
they moved to the Great Plainsóbuffalo were abundant
they hyper-developed their hunting institution
hunters became dominant in
the societyshamans less powerful
horses and guns, once introduced, abetted their development as hunters
raiding for horses became importantbecause they did not breed them
they became dominant warriors from Mexico to Canada to Kansas
| page 154 | convergent evolution | in cultural evolution, the development of similar adaptations to similar environmental conditions by people whose ancestral cultures were quite different |
yet they each came from different kinds of background
Comanche hunters/gatherers nomadic Cheyenne farmers settled
| page 154 | parallel evolution | in cultural evolution, the development of similar adaptations to similar environmental conditions by people whose ancestral cultures were similar |
the plant life became dependent on them for propagation
the major point: all culture
is dynamic, involving both change and stability
if adaptation
is successful, the society will remain relatively stable over time
CULTURE AREAS (154-156) |
| page 154 | culture area | a geographic region in which a number of different societies follow similar patterns of life |
people of different cultural backgrounds may live in or migrate to that region
in the Great Plains, 31 different cultural groups moved in!
the buffalo was the primary resource for all
they all
adapted similarly in relation to that one resource
in this way, they defined a culture area
| page 154 | culture type | the concept of viewing a culture in terms of the relation of its particular technology to the environment that technology exploits |
the difference specifically relates to how they develop or adapt technology in their particular reaction to the region
the Shoshone of the Southern and Western Great Basin
Paiute
of same region
these constituted different
culture types of the same culture area
| page 156 | cultural ecology | the study of the interaction of specific human cultures with their environment?with a strong emphasis on technological impact |
IMPORTANT SCHOLAR: (on
p. 156)
JULIAN H. STEWARD (1902-1972)
Importance developer and proponent of the cultural ecology model |
CULTURE CORE (157-157) |
| page 156 | culture core | the features of a culture that play a part in matters relating to the society's way of making a living |
this is primarily a structuralist concept: politics, religion, economics
the focus here is on the crucial, defining, survival-oriented areas and societal institutions
resource knowledge
patterns of labor
resource distribution
| page 157 | ethnoscientists | anthropologists who seek to understand the principles behind folk ideologies and the way these ideologies help a people survive |
the belief keeps them away from potential illness
The Food-Foraging Way of Life (157-165) |
food-foragers dominated the
earth 10,000 years ago
90% of all humans who have ever lived have been foragers
foragers, such as the Ju/'hoansi
of the Kalahari Desert, spend an average of 42 hours a week on foraging
and domestic maintenance
we spend about that much time simply on the job, not counting housework, entertainment, etc.
food-foragers are foraging
not necessarily because they have no better options
people in industrialized societies
forage
today for pleasure, recreation
| U-pick-it farms | clamming |
| morel mushroom picking | berrying |
| hunting for animals | hunting |
| ginseng hunting | fishing |
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FOOD-FORAGING LIFE (159-161) |
the territory tends to be defined by the available natural resources
the Great Basin Shoshone have a large territory, because their staple, the pine nut, is erratic and unreliable
the territory must be such
that the food supply is close to a reliable water supply
small size of local groupsusually less (far less) than 100 in a band
size is probably affected by two primary factors
density of social relations
| page 160 | carrying capacity | the number of people the available resources can support at a given technological level |
| page 160 | density of social relations | roughly, the number and intensity of interactions among the members of a camp or other residential unit |
the social relations among the people ªªªand its relative harmoniousness
when survival or social harmony
is at stake, food foraging groups tend to divide, to visit one another,
or simply to move around
THE IMPACT OF FOOD-FORAGING ON HUMAN SOCIETY (161-165) |
2) sharing of food among adults
3) the camp as the cynosure [the center] of daily activity and of food sharing
| Subsistence and Gender (161-162) |
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Men Hunt Butcher game Provide whole
proteinWork less
than womenWomen Gather plants Prepare food Provide about 70%
of foodWork more than men
| Food Sharing (162-163) |
among food-foragers, food
is typically shared around the camp site
in fact, the camp site is the center of eating, sleeping, and socializing activities
it is a semi-permanent, seasonal locale, oriented strategically to the territory
other primates will have camp
also, they tend to have separate sites for eating and for sleeping
| Cultural Adaptations and Material Technology (163-164) |
Some other Mbuti hunt primarily
with bows and arrows
| Egalitarian Society (164-165) |
cooperation is the key cultural attribute
when a hunter makes a kill, the kill is shared
when someone finds a honey tree, the tree is shared
they identify status with
sex and age, primarily
Important: Status Differences In Themselves Do Not Imply Inequality
major point: status accrues for both sexes in foraging societies
women's roles in foraging
societies tend to be more important to the economic life of the family
than the domestic role of women in Western society
the place where food is prepared
the place where all socialized
the place where all the vegetal preparation occurred
in non-foraging societies,
it is less egalitarian among the sexes, because men have control of their
public
life
Food Producing Society (165-177) |
probably happened between 9,000 and 11,000 years ago
first sites:
| Central Africa | China | Southeast Asia | South America | Mesoamerica | Middle East | Southeastern North America |
is certainly more monotonous
the food is less varied
its main advantage
thus, it potentially could support a larger population
THE SETTLED LIFE OF FARMERS (166-170) |
create pottery
make clothing
invent and craft tools
social structure
hierarchical political structures developed
Horticultural
societies
rather, plots of vegetable life essential to the subsistence of the group that is grown near the settlement
tend to be extensive-type
of farmingi.e., spreads the gardens over an extensive area, moving from
to a new plot once the old one is used up
use hand tools
tend to be subsistence-level
power resides in those who can give the biggest periodic feasts
the Gururumba are a New Guinea people
over 1,000 people in 6 villages over 30 square miles
each family has multiple plots
one for prestige giving
crops are planted according
to gender roles
men: sugarcane, bananas, taro, yams
women: sweet potatoes and greens
no irrigation (they get 100 inches of rain a year) and no fertilizing
prestige and status is accrued by gift-giving
feasts are given for weddings and other special celebrations
pig feasts (idzi
namo) are given as a prestige thing
| page 167 | swidden farming | an extensive form of horticulture in which the natural form of vegetation is cut, the slash is subsequently burned, and crops then are planted amongst the ashes [also known as "slash-and-burn" agriculture] |
ORIGINAL STUDY: (on pp.
167-169)
GARDENS OF THE MEKRANOTI KAYAPO
swidden farming is more ecologically-sound in the tropics than Western-style intensive agriculture intensive agriculture accelerates the mineralization of the soil and the leaching of nutrients Mekranoti are typical swidden farmers they have specific techniques for knowing when and in what way to do the slashing and burning, to enhance their chances for good crops |
higher level of technology than with horticulture: plows, tractors; fertilizer, irrigation
aim at surplus crops, where the surplus = wealth and prestige
cities often develop close to agricultural sites
increased specialization develops around the surplus production
PASTORALISM: THE BAKHTIARI (170-173) |
| page 170 | pastoralist | member of a society that regards animal husbandry as the ideal way of making a living and considers movement of all or part of the society a normal and natural way of life |
tend to be a nomadic
way of life
Bakhtiari:
fiercely independent people of south Zagros Mtns.
of western Iran
they raise goats and fat-tailed sheep
use donkeys (and some horses) as pack animals
| page 171 | transhumance | pattern of strict seasonal human movement between different environmental zones |
their food
dictates when their 2 seasonal migrations are to occur
Spring: from valley back to the mountains
for each trip, they split
into 5 groups: each with 5000 people & 50,000 animals
INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE & NON-INDUSTRIAL CITIES (173-177) |
Peru
Nile Valley
Lower Mesopotamia
Indus
Shang (China)
for distribution and centralization
of power, as discussed above
cities developed because of the specialization and the leisure afforded by intensive agriculture
a stratified society developed over the years based on wealth, power, etc. in terms of one's placement in the distribution process
social institutions likewise developed based on these criteria
Anthropology Applied::
(on p. 172)
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE ANTHROPOLOGIST
anthropologists can provide insight from ancient civilizations who dealt with similar environments and subsistence resolutions even when the technology is lost the Andean/Incan form of agriculture that was so adaptive to the mountains regions the Incans inhabited was lost when the Tiwanaku civilization disappeared |
| Aztec City Life (174-177) |
integrated efficient form of agriculture (chinampa) within the urban structure
Tenochtitl·n
was the capital; Tlatelolco was
the sister city (where the huge market was)
over 200,000 people 5 times larger than London when discovered (1519)
Non-Industrial Cities in the Modern World (177) |
| page 177 | preindustrial cities | the kinds of urban settlements characteristic of nonindustrial civilizations |
preindustrial cities have proved that they have been a viable sociogeographic form for literally thousands of years
one should
not
assume that, simply because we have developed the industrial city, that
it is the ultimate form
One should
also not assume that, simply because it appears that people worldwide
have developed from food-foraging to agriculturalist/pastoralist to preindustrial
city to industrial citythat this is how things must always be
there is no indication that, independently, the Aztec, e.g., would ever have developed the industrial city
there is no indication that, independently, the Gururumba ever would have developed urban centers
Applying Goldschmidt's
law again (success=physical and psychological satisfaction)
one could argue that progress is actually maladaptive
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