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Showing papers on "Subsistence agriculture published in 1971"




Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, various techniques were employed to extract maximal amounts and kinds of food remains from the site, and these remains, identified and quantified, are then compared with the estimated food potential from the 10 mi2 area surrounding the site in an attempt to determine both the ecology and the subsistence pattern of the inhabitants.
Abstract: Scovill is a Weaver focus site in west-central Illinois. Various techniques were employed to extract maximal amounts and kinds of food remains from the site, and these remains, identified and quantified, are then compared with the estimated food potential from the 10 mi2 area surrounding the site in an attempt to determine both the ecology and the subsistence pattern of the inhabitants. Certain hypotheses concerning the overall settlement-subsistence system of the Weaver focus are presented, and problems involved in the recovery, differential preservation, and quantification of archaeological food remains from open sites are discussed.

71 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined evidence for the subsistence and religious utilization of marine resources and compared to data for maize and other foods, and suggested that traditional views of maize as the cornerstone of prehistoric lowland Maya civilization may be erroneous.
Abstract: It is suggested that traditional views of maize as the cornerstone of prehistoric lowland Maya civilization may be erroneous. Previous research largely ignored Yucatan's peninsular geographical position and the wealth of marine resources available. Ecological, archaeological, and documentary evidence are examined for the subsistence and religious utilization of marine resources and compared to data for maize and other foods. Some possible ramifications of a marine-oriented Maya society are briefly stated and a “Yucatecan Symbiotic Region,” with highly sophisticated exploitation of both marine and terrestial resources as a subsistence base, rather than single crop dominance, is proposed.

55 citations


Book
01 Jan 1971
TL;DR: The Majang Tribe as mentioned in this paper used shifting agriculture for shifting agriculture, and the domestic group: labour and property, eating and sleeping, eating, and sleeping in the same coffee shop.
Abstract: List of illustrations Preface 1. Introduction: the Majang tribe 2. Subsistence: secondary sources 3. Subsistence: shifting agriculture 4. The domestic group: labour and property 5. The domestic group: composition and development 6. The domestic group: eating and sleeping 7. The neighbourhood ('the same coffee') 8. The settlement ('the same fields') 9. The community ('the same beer') 10. Mobility 11. Territory 12. Conclusions Bibliography Index.

31 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Food intake in the autochthonous environments of New Guinea is determined primarily by climate and landscape, secondarily by the improvising skills of the inhabitants, their cultural preferences and their isolation.
Abstract: Food intake in the autochthonous environments of New Guinea is determined primarily by climate and landscape, secondarily by the improvising skills of the inhabitants, their cultural preferences and their isolation. This has led to accomplished farming techniques, especially in the highlands, but also in one instance to a particular skill in swamp farming. In the lowlands, it resulted in a subsistence pattern based on the sago palm, supplemented by collecting animal and vegetable products. Only when water is available is there a significant contribution by animal protein. In the hilly interior, taro, yam, sweet potato and bananas in various combinations are the mainstay of diets. In a narrow altitudinal zone in the mountains, where climatic factors determine cultivation, the sweet potato is almost exclusively the staple food. The diets tend to be monotonous and the absence of cereals is striking. The hand‐to‐mouth subsistence often results in irregular intakes. Diets are mostly composed of cooked starch; ...

26 citations




Journal ArticleDOI
01 Nov 1971

21 citations


Book
17 Jun 1971

19 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors showed that root crops are more vulnerable to disease and attack by animals than maize and that manioc can flourish in only a limited number of locations, whereas maize is a more valuable staple.
Abstract: In 1966, Bronson proposed that root crops, especially manioc, played an important subsistence role in Ancient Mayan civilization and that they provide better subsistence for a substantial population than does maize. The present paper, although limited in scope to the Peten, casts doubt upon Bronson's hypotheses. Edaphic factors in the Peten are such that manioc can flourish in only a limited number of locations. Maize is nutritionally a more valuable staple than manioc. Under the present milpa system of agriculture, one milpero can feed 12.6 people annually with maize. Calculations based upon the same system indicate that a milpero could feed 16 people annually with manioc tuber and 7.75 with manioc flour. Root crops are also more vulnerable to disease and attack by animals than is maize. Paleoecological data, though inconclusive, suggest that root crops may not have been important among the Ancient Maya.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a dynamic regional model of agricultural production response, developed and applied to traditional agriculture, is presented, which is based on the already tested notions of economic rationality and price responsiveness in traditional agriculture; and incorporates several categories of response forces already studied in the case of developed agriculture.
Abstract: HE PURPOSE of this paper is to report the results of a dynamic regional model of agricultural production response, developed and applied to traditional agriculture, which (1) is based on the already tested notions of economic rationality and price responsiveness in traditional agriculture; (2) incorporates several categories of response forces already studied in the case of developed agriculture; and (3) includes in an essential way the features of subsistence production and household-firm interdependence that are central to the study of production response in traditional agriculture. Specifically, recursive linear programming and activity analysis are used to analyze and simulate the production, consumption, and investment decisions of subsistence farmers in a given region. The result is an improved understanding of the process of agriculture in transition and an operationally tested method for projecting future development. There is growing evidence of the recent transformation of the agricultural sectors of such diverse economies as Israel, Nigeria, West Pakistan, India, the Philippines, Tanganyika, and Thailand [18]. These vast agricultural transformations offer an excellent opportunity to enhance our understanding of the process of development. The purpose of this study was to investigate some of the factors and conditions responsible for one of these transformations, not in its generality, but in great detail. While agricultural development remains at the center of development theory and policy, only recently has attention been given to the empirical investigation of its role in the LDC's. Though some investigations stress the importance of agricultural exports as a point of departure in the LDC's, the more fundamental problems are those associated with agricultural production response, since agricultural exports, whatever their role, cannot increase without an increase in agricultural production. A large part of the empirical work done so far on production response in the LDC's touches on a very important aspect: whether peasants in traditional or near-traditional agriculture respond to market opportunities. These studies have shown that agricultural production of specific commodities in specific LDC's is price responsive, especially when account is taken of adjustment lags due to uncertainty and the quasi-fixity of capital stocks. They show that the form and direction of this response is consistent with price theory, so that we can expect market incentives to play an important role in the transformation of traditional agriculture. These empirical findings clearly refute those who believe that cultural and institutional re-

Book
01 Jan 1971
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the subject of rural development, as distinct from agricultural development, by an international and distinguished group of professionals in various fields, and provided guidelines for their possible solutions.
Abstract: The subject of rural development, as distinct from agricultural development, is explored in this book by an international and distinguished group of professionals in various fields. It is the first time that the many specific aspects of contemporary rural development have been brought together in one volume. Moreover, each subject is discussed in two contexts: that of the advanced countries and that of the developing ones, an arrangement which may shed some light on the question of how and to what extent the experience of one can influence the other.The importance of rural development for developing countries cannot be underestimated. The fact that the majority of the labor force in these countries is engaged in food production on a subsistence level leaves little doubt that rural development is the cornerstone of national growth. Not only does this book elucidate the many problems facing agricultural countries, but it hopes to provide guidelines for their possible solutions.Chapters in the first part of the book are organized under the headings: Rural Development--Policies and Planning; Agriculture and Industry; Rural-Urban Relationship; The Farm Unit; Agrarian Reform and Cooperative Institutions; Extension Services; and Implementation of Rural Development. The remainder of the book consists of eight case studies of agricultural and urban development in the United States, the Netherlands, Italy, Israel, Greece, Mexico, the Sudan, and Ceylon.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the early 1970s, the United States made the politically difficult decision to raise the official price of rice in the cities, which enabled prices received by farmers for their principal crops to double as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: T raditionally, agriculture provided the major economic activity of the Vietnamese people. Yet, because of increasing hostilities in the mid-1960s, farmers were dislocated from rural production and many became refugees, or were drafted for military service, or migrated toward urban areas for personal security and higher paying jobs. The result was that during 19651968 the country experienced a sharp decrease in food production, especially in production of its essential rice crop. The changes in Government policies and programs during the late 1960s helped farmers reverse this declining production trend: Vietnam's food production is currently higher than it ever was in the past. This article examines the development of this agricultural turn-around and the implications it will have for South Vietnam during the 1970s. In the winter of 1966-67 the Government of South Vietnam made the politically difficult decision to raise the official price of rice in the cities. This enabled prices received by farmers for their principal crops to double. At the same time, prices paid to farmers for meats and vegetables were allowed to rise to very attractive levels while the cost of the goods farmers needed to produce crops and livestock increased by less than one quarter. This shift in economic emphasis to favor rural producers was one of the most important political and economic development decisions made in the Vietnam war. Because of this decision, the Vietnamese farmer progressed from being a peasant largely outside the market economy and highly resistant to innovations toward becoming a modern agricultural producer responsive to market conditions and improved agricultural technology. It provided the incentive and income needed to increase production and, consequently, an opportunity for vast numbers of farmers to shift away from subsistence farming and economic stagnation toward surplus production and increased prosperity. This change will have profound significance in the postwar era as South

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A cursory acquaintance with rural life will reveal that a substantial part of its economic contacts with the rest of the world do not go through the exchange process as mentioned in this paper, and the image of the rugged individualist farmer is often complemented with and superseded by his alter ego who will share with other people.
Abstract: Agriculture's Perplexity: Market and Merit EVEN cursory acquaintance with rural life will reveal that a substantial part of its economic contacts with the rest of the world do not go through the exchange process. The image of the rugged individualist farmer is often complemented with and superseded by his alter ego who, either benevolently or under duress, will share with other people. Flashes from history could provide a variety of institutional alternatives. It is not unlikely that unilateral transfers, i.e., grants, preceded exchange transactions. The primitive family could produce at first only enough for subsistence, but with the invention of agriculture production exceeded the bare minimum of life. As soon as some authority got around to taking the surplus away from the cultivator, civilization began. "Urban civilization ... in its classical phase was based on agriculture and exploitation [i.e., coerced grants]. The farmer grows more than he needs to feed himself; the surplus is taken from him and feeds armies, artisans, priests, and kings. The agricultural surplus is transmuted into art and literature, Parthenons and cathedrals" [6, p. 48]. Evidently at some point in the process exchange appeared, although the terms of trade usually favored the stronger party; i.e., the transaction entailed elements of exchange and elements of tribute. Such remained the dominant social characteristic through the feudal age, both in the king-versus-squire and the squire-versus-serf relationships. In modern times institutionalized transfers have provided the "big push" toward economic development, as illustrated by the enclosure movement in 18th century England and collectivization in the 20th century Soviet Union. Equally, contemporary land reform movements mix exchanges and grants in the hope of creating an optimal inducement mechanism. A recent case study of the exchange-grant controversy is the European Common Market, where


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the post-World War II years, a number of scholars writing about the problems of underdeveloped countries and regions have argued that a high propensity for violent sociopolitical upheaval is inherent in the rural population of countries having a dual economy as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In the post-World War II years, a number of scholars writing about the problems of underdeveloped countries and regions have argued that a high propensity for violent sociopolitical upheaval is inherent in the rural population of countries having a dual economy. The characteristics and the setting of the rural labor markets in these countries are claimed to be the major determinants of this propensity.1 The argument can be summarized in the following manner: 1. An absence of a tight link between the marginal product of labor and worker claim-on-output in rural and traditional agricultural production together with (a) a rapid growth of rural population, (b) a low incremental labor-capital ratio in the export sector of the economy, and (c) weakness in the informational and other mobility links between the domestic-consumption (or subsistence) labor market and the exportsector labor market lead to substantial overt or disguised underemployment in rural areas.2


01 Jan 1971
TL;DR: For example, in years of high level the lake provides a relatively good living for the people of the plain and the fish is a major source of dietary protein for the densely populated Shire Highlands.
Abstract: Lake Chilwa and its environs present a unique challenge to science for two reasons: 1. The welfare of its people and the fish and crops on which they depend on incomes as well as subsistence are dominated by the vagaries of the periodic rise and fall of the lake. Inyears of high level the lake provides a relatively good living for the people of the plain and the fish is a major source of dietary protein for the densely populated Shire Highlands. Fish catches and fish consumption decline in years of low lake level. Could knowledge of the biology of the lake and the hydrology of the lake basin assist in stabilizing the fishing industry? 2. The area is underdeveloped, with the traditional matrilineal way of life, but it has considerable potential for a fishing industry, for agriculture, for livestock, for bird preservation and tourism and possibly, at some future date, for minerals. How can these interests be reconciled and in what order should developments take place?


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Subsistence Agriculture Game as discussed by the authors ) is a simulation game that allows students to play the role of actual farmers in Central America, and it represents a new teaching technique available for use and further investigation by geographers.
Abstract: Although subsistence agriculture may receive little attention in the classroom, it employs the majority of the world's farmers. One way to emphasize the importance of subsistence agriculture in class is to use a simulation game such as the Subsistence Agriculture Game, which allows students to play the role of actual farmers in Central America. The Game represents a new teaching technique available for use and further investigation by geographers.