There is a longstanding history in South Asia of relations of exchange and interdependence between agriculturalists and peoples involved in the hunting of wild animals and the gathering of wild plants. These relationships, far from being an historically fixed and immutable, were instead marked by a high degree of variability and flexibility with specific groups of people altering their strategies in relation to ecological, demographic, and political imperatives. These points are not controversial—many scholars have described such relationships and have contributed significantly to our understanding of the tremendous diversity of South Asian prehistoric and historic subsistence strategies. I would like to build from this literature in two ways. First of all, I would suggest that the strategies of contemporary forager-trader groups in South Asia are best viewed as the outcome of historically contingent processes, not merely as cultural-evolutionary throwbacks. Second, and more specifically, I will be concerned here to trace some of the changes and possible changes in the organization of foraging/trading groups in southwestern India coincident with the expansion of the coastal spice trade and the increasing integration of this region into a 1

Forager-Traders in South and Southeast Asia: Pepper in the hills: upland–lowland exchange and the intensification of the spice trade

This study is based on seven samples of school children (n = 516) from rural (five groups) and urban (two groups) settings in western Maharashtra, India. Height and weight were recorded for each subject. Intra-oral observation of the labial surface of maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth was conducted with a low power (3×) illuminated hand lens. Presence of enamel hypoplasia was recorded on a dental chart by drawing the size and location of the defect on the affected tooth. Data analysis was conducted in two stages: 1) Enamel hypoplasia (EH) prevalence was analyzed by percentage of teeth and by percentage of individuals affected for the composite sample and independently for each study group and 2) an assessment of the relationship between anthropometric variables (height and weight), socio-economic status (SES), and localized hypoplasia of primary canines (LHPC; Skinner, 1986) was evaluated using multiple linear regression analysis. EH was observed less often in deciduous incisors (0.2% in di2 to 2.5% in di2) than in deciduous canines (dc). Mandibular dc were affected with the greatest frequency (23.1%, tooth count). The overall individual count prevalence of dc hypoplasia (LHPC) is 26.2% (134/511) for all village samples and sexes combined. Difference in LHPC frequency by sex is non-significant, with males (24.7%, 70/284) and females (28.2%, 64/227) exhibiting nearly equal values. Significant inter-group variation in LHPC prevalence was documented among the seven groups, and the range of LHPC prevalence the among living groups exceeds variability in LHPC among four prehistoric Chalcolithic skeletal series of the Deccan Plateau. Multiple regression analysis revealed no significant relationship between height-for-age or weight-for-age in four school samples (two urban/two rural), but a significant association between stature and LHPC was found for three rural endogamous groups. Children with LHPC were significantly shorter by 1.5 cm than children who lacked the defect after controlling for differences in age. While the association between low birth weight and EH is strong and well documented clinically, the association between childhood stature and LHPC is more variable across groups and may reflect inter-group variation in the duration and intensity of environmental stress. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 13:788–807, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Epidemiology of enamel hypoplasia in deciduous teeth: explaining variation in prevalence in western India.

1. Historicizing adaptation, adapting to history: forager-traders in South and Southeast Asia Kathleen D. Morrison 2. Introduction Kathleen D. Morrison 3. Hunting and gathering strategies in prehistoric India: a bio-cultural perspective on trade and subsistence John R. Lukacs 4. Harappans and hunters: economic interaction and specialization in prehistoric India Gregory L. Possehl 5. Gender and social organization in the reliefs of the Nilgiri Hills Allen Zagarell 6. Pepper in the hills: upland-lowland exchange and the intensification of the spice trade Kathleen D. Morrison 7. Introduction Laura L. Junker 8. Hunters and traders in Northern Australia Sandra Bowdler 9. Foragers, farmers, and traders in the Malaysian Peninsula Alan Fix 10. Economic specialization and inter-ethnic trade between foragers and farmers in the Prehispanic Philippines Laura L. Junker.

Forager-Traders in South and Southeast Asia: Long-Term Histories

Forager-Traders in South and Southeast Asia: Hunting and gathering strategies in prehistoric India: a biocultural perspective on trade and subsistence

Forager-Traders in South and Southeast Asia: Economic specialization and inter-ethnic trade between foragers and farmers in the prehispanic Philippines

Indian society consists of more than 4000 endogamous castes, tribes, and religious communities (Malhotra, 1979a). Of these, some 500 groups, constituting about 7% of India’s population are nomads (Malhotra, 1983). These nomads are in various stages of nomadism; some are completely sedentary; others are seminomads, and still others are true nomads. True nomads are the ones who move during the year in a cyclical rhythmic manner in a more or less fixed territory and who have no permanent dwellings and practice no agriculture (Bacon, 1954). The seminomads have permanent dwellings and may engage in agriculture or other persuits, but they migrate only during part of the year.

Madha V Gadgil

Papers

Subsistence Strategies among the Pastoralists of Maharashtra, India