Subsistence agriculture

About: Subsistence agriculture is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 8069 publications have been published within this topic receiving 156876 citations. The topic is also known as: subsistence farming.

Archaeofaunal remains from the past 4000 years in Sahelian West Africa: Domestic livestock subsistence strategies and environmental changes

Abstract: The faunal assemblages that are the subject of this study were excavated in northern Burkina Faso and the southern Lake Chad area, within the framework of a multidisciplinary project. They cover almost the entire four millennia between 2000 BC and the present. Besides gathering information on the history of the different domestic animals in the research area, a major aim of this study is the reconstruction of the palaeoeconomy and palaeoecology of the investigated sites. The data Appendices include radiocarbon dates and details of faunal remains.

The Pig and the Chicken in the Middle East: Modeling Human Subsistence Behavior in the Archaeological Record Using Historical and Animal Husbandry Data

Abstract: The role of the pig in the subsistence system of the Middle East has a long and, in some cases, poorly understood history It is a common domesticated animal in earlier archaeological sites throughout the Middle East Sometime in the first millennium, BC pig use declined, and subsequently it became prohibited in large areas of the Middle East The pig is an excellent source of protein, but because of low mobility and high water needs, it is difficult to move long distances While common in sites, the pig is rarely mentioned in texts In contrast, the use of cattle, sheep, and goats is extensively documented In the human subsistence system of the arid and semiarid areas of the Middle East, the pig was a household-based protein resource that was not of interest to the central authority Sometime in the late second or first millennium BC, the chicken was introduced into the Middle East The chicken is an even more ideal household-based protein resource and, like the pig, is rarely mentioned in texts In arid and semiarid areas of the Middle East, the pig and the chicken compete for food and labor in the human subsistence system I hypothesize that in arid and semiarid areas of the Middle East, the chicken largely replaced the pig because the chicken is a more efficient source of protein, it produces a secondary product, the egg, and it is a smaller package; hence, a family can consume one in a day or two This made the pig redundant and available for use in other human systems The pig, however, never disappeared from the diet of humans in the Middle East

New Goods and the Transition to a New Economy

Abstract: The US went through a remarkable structural transformation between 1800 and 2000 A precipitous decline in the importance of agricultural goods in the economy was matched by the rapid ascent of a plethora of new non-agricultural goods and services A competitive model is presented here where consumption evolves along the extensive margin This lessens the need to rely on satiation points, subsistence levels of consumption, and the like to explain agriculture’s demise The analysis suggests that between 1800 and 2000 economic welfare grew by at least 15% a year, and may be as much as 10% annually, the exact number depending upon the metric preferred

Poverty, peasantry and agriculture in Ethiopia

Abstract: In Ethiopia, people have been dominantly agrarian society with subsistence way of living. They have mainly made their livelihood by tilling and herding. Mixed agriculture has been dominant economic activity. Food production has been the most important activity of the peasants. Agriculture has remained more or less static for centuries and people have been indifferent to material wealth. Little has been done to transform peasant agriculture of the country. The failure and static nature of the Ethiopian peasant agriculture could be associated with interlinked historical, natural, religious and cultural factors. Though important it was, in the Ethiopian academics, peasant agriculture has never been recognized as an important development issue until the recent times. No attempt has been made to bring internal transformation in the thinking and working habit of the people. This contribution, based on desk reviews and unpublished sources, is concerned with the issues and history of essential features of the Ethiopian agriculture, including post-1974 rural policy and agricultural developments. The study also explored the effect of religion and culture on thinking and working habit of the people.