Showing papers on "Subsistence agriculture published in 1988"

Coming into the Country: Early Paleoindian Hunting and Mobility

Abstract: Hunter-gatherer adaptations to long-term fluctuations in regional resource structure require mechanisms to cope with periodic subsistence stresses. Among documented groups, a common response to such stress is temporary movement into adjacent occupied areas-moving in with "relatives" when things go wrong. However, in the case of early (ca. 12,000-10,000 B.P.) Paleoindian groups in the Americas, the availability of neighboring groups with a detailed knowledge of local resource geography could not be relied upon. Post-Pleistocene environmental changes and the low initial population of the New World are important factors conditioning a lifeway characterized by a dependence on hunting (though not exclusively of megafauna), and by high residential, logistical, and range (territorial) mobility. Early Paleoindian groups had to adopt a subsistence technology that could be employed regardless of the specific resource microstructure. In some regards, Paleoindians seem to have behaved like tropical foragers while in others like arctic collectors. Use of high quality lithic raw materials from large quarry sources, reliance on a bifacial technology, limited use of caves and rockshelters, and a low level of processing of food products for storage all may be indicative of such a subsistence technology, which would have been unlike that of any modern hunter-gatherers.

Economic Development and International Migration in Comparative Perspective

Abstract: Economic development is associated with modernization urbanization internal rural-urban migration and international migration. Emigration is positively associated with development and aid to developing countries will increase emigration from those countries until the developing country reaches a standard of living equal to that of the developed country. Studies of European emigration to America have shown that emigration is correlated with the onset of industrialization and that emigration was highest when the home country was experiencing a depression and the US economy was in a period of upswing. The basis of society in an underdeveloped country is labor-intensive subsistence farming which provides work and sustenance to a household or community. As soon as capital is applied to agriculture the small peasant holdings are replaced by large private holdings efficiently farmed by machinery and producing surpluses that find their way to markets that is to urban areas which represent concentrations of wealth. The fabric of agricultural society is destabilized as the peasant owner becomes a hired laborer who migrates to the urban area when farms need fewer and factories more laborers. The 1st phase of migration is thus rural to urban. But development is discontinuous both in time and in space and when the displaced worker cannot find employment in the cities of his own country he emigrates to another. Transportation and communication facilities developed to facilitate industrial and commercial exchange also serve as carriers of international migration usually to the same country with which close economic links have already been established. International migration feeds on itself because earlier immigrants provide a network that makes resettlement easier cheaper and less risky for the next wave of migrants. Moreover the emigrants send money back to the home country which helps to speed up the development process in the home country until modernization and urbanization reach the point where there are no more displaced peasants to export. The experience of the United States and Mexico illustrates most phases of the emigration cycle. The 1st wave of Mexican emigration to the US lasted from 1900 to 1929 when the US economy was growing and the Mexican Revolution (1910-1919) devastated the Mexican economy. In the 1930s Mexico experienced a period of rapid growth. The 2nd wave of emigration 1942-1964 stemmed from the coincidence of drought in Mexico and wartime labor shortage in the US which was remedied by the bracero program which granted temporary visas to Mexican agricultural workers. The 3rd and current wave of emigration began in the mid-1960s. It was fueled by the Mexican governments ambitious economic reform program which was to be paid for out of oil revenues. When oil prices fell the Mexican economy suffered a crisis of inflation and debt. However the development process in Mexico is reaching the stage where there are no longer large numbers of surplus agricultural workers and Mexican emigration should diminish over the next 2 decades.

Role of livestock on mixed smallholder farms in the Ethiopian Highlands : a case study from the Baso and Worena Wereda near Debre Berhan

Abstract: The productivity of livestock in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of milk and meat is the lowest of any world region. The outcome of livestock development projects has been disappointing. Low returns to investment in such projects have often arisen from poor project design, in turn the result of inadequate understanding of the relevant livestock production systems. Livestock in sub-Saharan Africa is concentrated on smallholder farms, where crop and livestock husbandry are practiced in association. The role of livestock in such "mixed" farming systems and the interactions between the crop and livestock components have often been poorly understood. The highlands have the highest density of both the human and livestock populations of any major ecological zone in sub- Saharan Africa. Almost all the livestock of this zone can be found on mixed smallholder farms. Ethiopia accounts for 50% of the African highland landmass, and has the largest livestock herd on the African continent. This study reviews the role of livestock on mixed smallholder farms in the Ethiopian highlands. The study takes a farming systems approach to research. It was undertaken within the framework of the Highlands Programme of the International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA). Field data were collected from 1979 to 1985 through farm management and household economic surveys of a total of 170 traditional smallholder farms located in four different Peasants Associations of the Baso and Worena district. The area is representative of the higher altitude zone of the Ethiopian highlands, and is located in a cereal-livestock zone. The farming system is based on smallholder rainfed subsistence agriculture, annual crops planted by broadcasted seed, rudimentary implements and an ox-drawn wooden plough, the 'maresha'. The results of this study show that livestock are of crucial importance to this farming system, and that there is a high level of crop-livestock integration. Livestock provide a dominant part of the farm's cash income and gross margin. The main outputs of cattle were intermediate products used as inputs into the crop production enterprise, such as draught power for land cultivation and crop threshing, and manure for fertilizer. The availability of animal draught power was a significant factor in determining the level of farm grain production. Livestock generated a substantial amount of employment, and was of prime importance in providing security and a source of investment to the farm household. Animals, particularly small ruminants, were sold according to cash flaw needs, and purchased as a store of wealth. Donkeys provide almost all the transport of inputs and outputs of agricultural products. The data show that livestock productivity is low for final products, but high in terms of intermediate products. The main production and institutional constraints to increased farm output are identified and discussed. The principal constraint to the development of livestock production for increased offtake of meat and milk is the importance given by farmers to the intermediate functions of livestock. Research on relevant technology to increase the productivity of livestock in the Ethiopian highlands is reviewed. At ILCA's experiment station in Debre Berhan, research was undertaken on possible interventions for the farming system of the Baso and Worena district. Two technologies related to smallholder livestock production appeared particularly promising: the use of crossbred dairy cows (Boran x Friesian) for milk production, and the use of a newly developed single-ox plough. The encouraging results of on-station research and an ex-ante evaluation using a linear programming model led to the initiation of farmer-managed on-farm trials of both technologies in the same peasants associations in which the diagnostic studies had been undertaken previously. The productivity of test farms was compared with that of other farms that served as a control. Crossbred dairy cows had significantly higher milk yields than cows of local breeds, incomes of dairy test farmers were significantly higher than those of control farmers, and no major problems were encountered in technology adoption. The major constraints to dairy development in the area were found to be a shortage of feed during the dry season, lack of milk marketing facilities particularly during the main fasting period, occasional disease problems of crossbred cattle, and the lack of appropriate breeding services. If adequate extension services can be provided, smallholder dairy production on the basis of crossbred cows could be an efficient vehicle for agricultural development in the area. Verification trials were also conducted on the utilisation and rate of adoption of the single-ox plough for land cultivation. Both utilisation and adoption were low. An important weakness of the technology appeared to be the poor structural stability of the single-ox unit compared with the traditional 'maresha'. plough drawn by a pair of oxen. The research findings suggest that single-ox ploughing may be useful for seed covering operations, but could not replace the use of paired oxen for land cultivation. The study concludes with an appraisal of the methodological approach taken in the research process, and a discussion of the transferability of the research results that were obtained. The implications of the study for future research work m agriculture and livestock in the Ethiopian highlands are also discussed.

Foragers and Farmers: Population Interaction and Agricultural Expansion in Prehistoric Europe

Abstract: Susan Alling Gregg presents a sophisticated model for the transition from hunter-gatherer societies tosettled agricultural communities in prehistoric Europe. She proposes that farmers and foragers must have encountered each other and interacted in a variety of ways for over a millennium as farming systems spread throughout the continent. Several variations of subsistence developed, such as foraging and hunting for part of the year and farming for the rest, or cooperative exchange arrangements between hunter-gatherers and farmers throughout the year. Gregg examines anthropological, ecological, and archaeological dimensions of prehistoric population interaction. She then examines the ecological requirements of both crops and livestock and, in order to identify an optimal farming strategy for Early Neolithic populations, develops a computer simulation to examine various resource mixes. Turning to the foragers, she models the effects that interaction with the farmers would have had on the foragers' subsistence-settlement system. Supporting her model with archaeological, ecological, and ethnobotanical evidence from southwest Germany, Gregg shows that when foragers and farmers occur contemporaneously, both need to be considered before either can be understood. Theoretically and methodologically, her work builds upon earlier studies of optimal diet and foraging strategy, extending the model to food-producing populations. The applicability of Gregg's generalized model for both wild and domestic resources reaches far beyond her case study of Early Neolithic Germany; it will interest both Old and New World archaeologists.

Drought survival tactics of subsistence farmers in Niger

Abstract: Previous research into drought-response tactics has tended to be undertaken after the fact, and hence has been forced to be impressionistic. This study quantifies the importance of farmer drought-response strategies in southcentral Niger based on a survey which began during the drought of 1984. Livestock sales, food aid, temporary migration, remunerative non-agricultural activities, and loans were the principal drought-survival tactics employed

'Ain Ghazal: A Major Neolithic Settlement in Central Jordan

Abstract: 'Ain Ghazal, an archeological site located on the outskirts of Amman, Jordan, is one of the largest early villages known in the Near East. The site dates to the Neolithic period, during which mankind made one of its most significant advances, the adoption of domestic plants and animals as primary subsistence sources. Recent excavations at 'Ain Ghazal have augmented considerably current knowledge of several aspects of the Neolithic. Of particular interest has been the documentation of a continuous, or near continuous, occupation from early through late Neolithic components, and a concomitant dramatic economic shift. This shift was from a broad subsistence base relying on a variety of both wild and domestic plants and animals, to an economic strategy reflecting an apparent emphasis on pastoralism.

Breaking up the bottlenecks in food-crop and cotton cultivation in northern Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract: It is widely recognised that seasonal labour bottlenecks present major obstacles to peasant farmers seeking to expand agricultural output in sub-Saharan Africa. Evidence from Nigeria and Sierra Leone, for example, reveals that labour shortages and limited income to hire off-farm labour have historically constrained rural producers from intensifying and enlarging their agricultural operations (Norman et al., 1979: 42–7; Watts, 1983: 202–3; Richards, 1985: 96). Many attempts by colonial and contemporary African States to promote food crop and export crop production failed, in part, because of peasant resistance to the threat of subsistence insecurity associated with labour conflicts in the agricultural calendar. Richards's (1986) study of the failure of a series of labour-intensive wet rice cultivation projects in central Sierra Leone illustrates the degree to which peasant agricultural practices represent adjustments to labour-supply problems. Given the pervasiveness and importance of seasonal labour constraints in African agricultural systems, it is surprising that ‘few studies have provided insights into the adjustment in labor use resulting from the introduction of cash crops and new technologies’ (Eicher and Baker, 1982: 99).

Epipaleolithic and Neolithic Subsistence and Settlement in the Fayyum Oasis of Egypt

Abstract: Recent research suggests that subsistence changes in NE Africa between 11,000 and 7000 BP have significant implications for general models of the origins and spread of agricultural economies In the research reported here, surface collections and excavations were used to investigate the origins of agricultural economies in the Fayyum area of Egypt at about 7000 BP The Fayyum data are considered in relation to evidence from other areas and various reconstructions of NE African agricultural origins are discussed

Government Policy Biases and Ecuadorian Agricultural Change

Abstract: This paper examines links between national policy, agricultural production regimes, and regional economic change in Ecuador. Social and spatial policy biases relate to the presence of qualitatively different production structures in Ecuadorian agriculture—distinguished by their social relations of production and articulation into the capitalist economy. I investigate links between policy, agricultural production regime, and regional economic change through a nationwide empirical analysis of price and credit policy impacts on Ecuadorian agriculture. These analyses employ data drawn from the 1974 and 1982 Population Censuses and the 1974 Agricultural Census. Radically different agricultural production regimes in Ecuador enable/constrain farmers'access to political and economic resources and so influence agrarian change. Specifically Sierran minifundistas, without land title and engaged in subsistence production, are excluded from price and credit programs whereas Costeno export crop producers, empl...

The Hierarchy of the Soil: Land and Labour in a 19th Century Cape Breton Community

Abstract: THE IMPRESSIVE RENAISSANCE OF MARITIME HISTORIOGRAPHY over the past two decades has concentrated on issues located outside of the countryside, while the rural spaces in which most of the region's population lived and the bulk of the region's economic activity occurred have received relatively little study. Despite this lack of attention, some common perceptions permeate the literature. It is assumed that farming was basically "subsistence" in nature for much of the 19th century and that rural residents enjoyed a rough equality of condition. The immigrant encounter with the rural environment of the region is perceived as generating, at least initially, a society characterized by rough equality and the supposed absence of markets for farm goods coupled with relatively open access to land resources is thought to have sustained egalitarian social structures. Significant markets for Maritime agricultural goods are typically construed as a relatively late development. The literature concerning rural Cape Breton in the 19th century is certainly no exception to these statements. Indeed, those districts settled by Highland Scots have commonly been portrayed as enclaves of self-sufficiency, since Highlanders, it is claimed,

Crisis and Adaptation in a Ghanaian Forest Community

Abstract: This article examines the allocation, procurement, and use of economic resources and other productive means in a Ghanaian rural community to solve problems resulting from socioenvironmental stress and economic deprivation. There is a general beliefthat during times of economic crisis in "Third World" societies, village adaptation tends to be negatively affected and that conditions in rural areas will even be worse than in the urban centres of the affected countries. This article argues that this has not been the case among the rural peoples of Ayirebi, nearAkyem Oda, in southeastern Ghana. Itpoints out how power, moral authority, and social responsibility were used for the well-being of the village population. [crisis, adaptation, West Africa, Ghana, subsistence]

Chronology, Sediments, and Subsistence at Merimda Beni Salama

Abstract: Test excavation at Merimda Beni Salama indicates initial occupation of the site during the early part of the fifth millennium Be. Subsistence was based on the exploitation of cattle, sheep/goats, pigs, fish, hippopotamus, and on the cultivation of wheat and barley. Both flake and bifacial tools were utilized; the bifacial tools include foliate ‘knives’, sickles, and a concave-based triangular point. The assemblage shows close affinity to the Fayum Neolithic, which dates to the same period. Both the Fayum and Merimda Neolithic antedate the predynastic sites in the Nagada region. The initial occupation at Merimda followed a wet period with increased run off, but conditions during the occupation were, in general, arid.

Crop diversity and nutrition in west java

Abstract: Small‐scale, subsistence agriculture in Java has an exceptional diversity of interplanted crops — a diversity that is declining as farm sizes decrease due to population growth and greater emphasis is placed on the most profitable crops for an expanding market economy. The nutritional consequences of these changes can be examined by examining interrelationships between household economic status, market involvement, dietary preferences, crops employed, crop yields and food consumption. The large quantity of rice in the Javanese diet frequently leads to deficiencies in the production and consumption of calcium, iron, riboflavin and vitamin A. Mixed‐cropping fields and homegardens are the major source of these critical vitamins and minerals. The production of these vitamins and minerals is greater in fields and gardens with a greater diversity of interplanted crops. Some Javanese families do not have sufficient land to produce all the food they need. In addition to the vitamins and minerals mentioned above, c...

Gitksantraditionalmedicine:herbs and healing

Abstract: ABS1RACT.-The Gitksan people live along the Skeena River in nonhwest British Columbia, Canada. Gitksan traditional medicine is still practiced as an adjunct to modem allopathic medicine. Medicinal plants are used as decoctions, infusions, poultices, and fumigants, or aTe chewed fur a wide variety of medical conditions. Traditional Gitksan life involved seasonal movement to utilize a wide variety of plant and animal resources. The Gitksan people viewed their environment as a harmonious interacting whole which included people as one of its elements, Maintenance of this balance was crucial to the health of the environment and the survival and health of the people. Shamans, bone­ setters, midwives and herbalists all contributed to rnainteJ1::mce of h~lth and tT~tment of illness in the traditional system. Extensive use was made of p)::mt products as medicines. INTRODUCTIONAND SEITlNG The Gitksan people of northwestem British Columbia, Canada, live along the Skeena River and its tributaries iFig. 11. The natural environment consists of densely forested wide glacial valleys separated by rugged mountain ranges with alpine meadows, glaciers and rocky cliffs at their summits. The region lies in the transition between the Pacific Coast Forest types which extend from Central California to Southeast Alaska and the Boreal Forest which extends across Canada and Central Alaska. The Gitksan culture, too, is transitional, combining coastal fishing strategies with interior hunting and trap­ ping.lt is part of the North Coast culture area IDrucker 1955, Woooeock 19771 and their language is closely related to Tsimshian IDrucker 1955; Garfield 1939; Duff 1959, 19641. The neighboring Wet'suwet'en are an Athabaskan speaking group allied to the Carriers of the interior of central British Columbia. The Wet'suwet'en have acquired many coastal cultural characteristics from prolonged contact and intermarriage with the Gitksan, and some diffusion of cultural adaptation.o; and words with Wet'suwet'en roots has occurred in Gitksan. The eastward extent of Coastal cultural adaptations into the interior in the Nass and Skeena areas is made possible by the inland extension of westem red-cedar (Thuja plicata1) and the presence of large navigable rivers with abundant salmon. Traditionally subsistence involved seasonal movement to utilize different resources, notably iour species of salmon (Oncorhyncus spp.), steelhead trout, oolaehan (Thalicthrs pacificus, an anadromous smeltl, spring greens, berries, edible roots, and caribou, moun­ tain goat and marmot. Periods of dispersal on the landscape were interspersed with winter residence in large centrally located villages. Before European contact, all activities of the Gitksan were conducted in the context of this annual cycle of movement IFig. 21 and the people saw themselves as an integral part of the natural system. Movement on the land to utilize the resources necessary for survival was shaped by the structure of the society which organized people into matrilineal dans and clan subdivisions called houses (wilp) ICove 1982; Adams 1973, Neil Sterrit Jr., Don Ryan, personal communication) characterized by crests and governed by hereditary chiefs. These

Remodelling the neolithic in Southern Norway: Another attack on a traditional problem

Abstract: The explanations for agricultural development in southern Norway are based on three archaeological variables; land use, settlement patterns, and wealth and cultural affinities displayed in rituals and burials. The present explanatory models for Neolithic socio‐economic change in eastern and western Norway emphasize external origins of change, and are based on general, regional pollen diagrams and on the assumption that sites located on good soils and/or the presence of Neolithic artifacts from southern Scandinavia indicate an agricultural economy. A critical evaluation of the basic evidence and new interpretive models based on long‐distance social relations of production and exchange, in‐context subsistence information, and intensive use of the forest for grazing and cultivation suggest different explanations for the development of agriculture in eastern and western Norway. Middle Neolithic ‘de‐neolithification’ in eastern Norway may represent an intensification in the use of the available domestic and ma...

More Small Business Is Not the Answer for Peru

Abstract: Governments in Canada, Australia, the U.S., Singapore, and elsewhere have viewed the formation of small businesses and the encouragement of entrepreneurship as a solution to national economic stagnation, but the link between small business and the economic prosperity of a nation does not always hold true. Perhaps the best illustration to exemplify this is the case of Peru. Many readers may associate Peru primarily with its history and architectural treasures such as the ancient city of Cuzco, capital of the Incan Empire for centuries. When the Europeans conquered Cuzco in 1533, it was one of the largest cities in the world, and one of the most important business centers in the Western Hemisphere. Half of Peru's population are descendants of the Incas, and research on Incan business practices reveals what may be the root of the socioeconomic problems that plague Peru today. History For millenia, small business has existed among most civilizations around the world. In our culture, the Bible describes early business transactions and trade between individuals. These were small in scale, but eventually led to the birth of large business in Europe. Ultimately small businesses gave rise to large firms, which in turn grew to become the multinational enterprises of today. Small business, however, is a relatively new concept in South America. The Incas apparently had no small business within each community. Rather than trade as individuals, they traded as groups between communities. Within each settlement, inhabitants shared what they had. The excess was collectively traded in exchange for other goods elsewhere. Only with the arrival of the Europeans did the Incas learn about noncollective, one-to-one small business. The urbanized descendants of the Incas became increasingly intrigued with entrepreneurial values, and rejected the traditional communal approach. Among non-rural inhabitants, the novelty of small business and working for oneself, replaced the traditional style of communal business trading of the Incas. Since its independence in 1821, Peru has experienced an exponential increase in small business among the urban population. As a result, Peru now suffers from a number of small businesses well beyond the optimal as well as from a lack of sufficientnumbers of large businesses and associated economies of scale. These problems were aggravated by increasing urbanization. In April l968, the Agrarian Land Reform expropriated large farms belonging to the few families which controlled the economy in an effort to redistribute wealth. Thriving plantations which had employed thousands of peasants were subdivided into many small lots for distribution to the masses. Yet many of the individuals working the land preferred working for wages than as subsistence farmers working for them selves. They were given fertile farm for free, but they had no educationobligatory education was introduced only in 1974-nor start-up capital. Nor were economies of scale possible any longer. Field size could not justify the acquisition of machinery. Many rural workers left their fields to the weeds and moved to the cities, looking for jobs. By 1970, one-third of the population had abandoned the land. Sugar, which was a major export until 1975, is now imported; the farms are feeding fewer people, and consumers are turning more to fish as an inexpensive food source. (Previously, tuna and mackerel were caught mostly for export, but are now in demand in the local market. Tuna and mackerel sell for 65 cents a kilo, whereas sea bass, flounder and beef all sell for around $4 per kilo.) Until 1965, the major export of Peru was guano from birds that nested along the shoreline which entrepreneurs sold as fertilizer. Now that fish are less plentiful due to increased local consumption, few birds remain along the Peruvian coast to feed on the depleted fish stock. The result is that there is no more bird dung for export. …

Temporary migration from cochabamba, bolivia to argentina: patterns and impact in sending areas1

Abstract: This chapter analyzes temporary Bolivian migration from Cochabamba to Argentina. The development and importance of international migration from Bolivia to Argentina principally to Buenos Aires is placed within the context of demographic and economic changes that have occurred in Bolivia since the 1952 Revolution. The authors argue that migration to Argentina is a popular alternative selected by rural and urban households in their pursuit of a diversified domestic economy. Temporary migration to Buenos Aires and other Argentina cities consolidates the family economy. Migration provides capital that supports households and permits them to develop certain productive activities that do not depend necessarily on wage-earning strategies but rather on self-employment and economic diversification. For urban migrants the ability to go to Argentina is 1 of many options and allows them to cope with the precarious urban living situation. It also provides resources and certain "know-how" in adapting to urban employment patterns and in managing multiple resources and businesses. This does not mean that rural migrants abandon the countryside. In maintaining a double residency they preserve family ties access to land and produce and contacts that are crucial for their commercial enterprises. Both rural and urban women develop a variety of economic activities outside of their domestic sphere and maintain strong ties to their places of origin. They demonstrate a considerable degree of specialization particularly in commerce which reveals a degree of economic autonomy that permits them to maintain the daily subsistence of their families without relying on remittances from their husbands. It also permits men to be away for long periods of time and to develop a long-term orientation to employment in Argentina. Fort his reason a prolonged absence of the husband does not necessarily destabilize the household; the extended family serves to maintain and support it. As a result of the low labor demand in the Bolivian industrial and construction sectors and the marked wage differentials between Bolivia and Argentina migration will remain a viable economic option.

Subsistence Fishing in Canada: A Note on Terminology

Abstract: Several terms (subsistence, domestic, harvest and food fishing) are used often synonymously in Canada to refer to fishing carried out to satisfy local food needs. To resolve the confusion and to provide consistency, it is desirable to consolidate the terminology. "Subsistence" connotes the appropriate meaning in both anthropology and economics, and is therefore favored here. It has the added advantage of being the term used in Alaska. Key words: subsistence, domestic fisheries, food fisheries, harvesting, native people, Canadian North

Agroforestry systems in the Garhwal Himalayas of India

Abstract: Agroforestry systems, though at subsistence level are well established in Garhwal Himalayas. The farmers undertake cultivation of various crops, seasonal and biennials crops with trees all in mixtures on the same piece of land. Farm animals and poultry form an essential component of the systems. The intimate association of different species provides both subsistence and commercial products which give additional income to the farmer. The paper describes the general scenario of socio-economic condition and existing agroforestry practices and some suggestions for their improvement in the Garhwal Himalayas.

Modeling Subsistence Strategies In The Forest/Grassland Transition Zone Of Western Manitoba During The Late Prehistoric And Early Historic Periods

Abstract: The ecological relationship between archaeological cultures and their environments is of interest to archaeologists attempting to reconstruct past lifeways and processual developments in prehistori...

A Revolution of Ideas in Agricultural Origins: Ideas about the origin of sedentism and agriculture have been changing in recent years, with a greater emphasis on examining the details of sites case by case.

Abstract: Ideas about the origin of sedentism and agriculture have been changing in recent years, with a greater emphasis on examining the details of sites case by case. Some new evidence seems to indicate that there was no simple transition or rapid revolution from nomadic subsistence to agriculture and sedentism in the Neolithic. Evidence described from Abu Hureyra, Catal Huyuk, and 'Ain Ghazal suggests that these settlements were not simply either hunting and gathering or farming. In addition, there was probably not a uniform shift at these sites from simple, egalitarian farming villages to large culturally sophisticated settlements. New information supporting these conclusions is given. A discussion is provided concerning whether or not a single factor caused the development of agriculture (which emerged virtually simultaneously throughout the world). Population pressure and climatic change are described as two possible causes. Other workers suggest that evidence from local sites (such as from Abu Hureyra) do not fit these type of general causal models.

The impact of AIDS on food production systems in East and Central Africa over the next ten years: a programmatic paper.

Abstract: African economies are based on subsistence rural production and food production has been declining over the last 20 years. Per capita consumption in 1980 was 20% lower than in 1960 and in 18 countries per capita calorie intake is less than 90% of minimal requirements. This paper presents a method for analyzing and monitoring the impact of AIDS on food production in Africa over the next decade. AIDS tends to be cohort-specific so rural production systems must 1st be classified in terms of their sensitivity to labor loss in order to identify the areas most vulnerable because of differential labor sensitivity. Secondly factors determining differential diffusion exposure to AIDS must be identified. These factors include contacts with urban areas and sociocultural factors such as milk pooling among mothers. Life tables should be constructed for the population at risk in order to identify the spatial and temporal spread of HIV-positive populations and AIDS victims. Thirdly in-depth studies at the household and individual level must be undertaken so that the impact of AIDS across a range of households within a rural production system can be modeled. Software for this sort of modeling has been developed in the Overseas Development Group. Fourthly the effect of AIDS on the national economy must be predicted by identifying the impact of AIDS directly in terms of depopulation migration and area-specific labor shortages as well as indirectly in terms of disruption of food production and disruption of the social networks of distribution and coping with the disease. Finally the data gathered by these monitoring technics must be used to supply governments with the necessary information on which to base policy decisions such as switching from agriculture to hunting in some areas or adopting imported technologies in response to the decreased labor supply. A further consideration is the longterm effects of depopulation on the ecology of the region in terms of the spread of insect populations and endemic diseases.

Experimental technique for the conservation of private lands.

Abstract: A community-based sanctuary for the black howler monkey (Alouatta pigra) has been established on 18 square miles of riverine forest along the Belize river, Belize. It is based on voluntary signed pledges by subsistence farmers to abide by management plans for their lands. Conservation-education programs which impact favorably on the villagers are being carried out.