Subsistence 1

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Subsistence 1

• Anthropology and economy

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Anthropology and the Economy

• Three main areas
• 1) Production
• Subsistence
• Modes of production
• 2) Distribution
• 3) Consumption

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Subsistence

• Defined as the way in which people gain the food
  and other resources they need for social
  survival.

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• Social survival is defined as the resources you
  need to function in a particular society.
• e.g. In industrialized societies you need a much
  higher level of income than you might in an
  agrarian society.

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Modes of Subsistence

• Foraging (Hunting and Gathering)
• Horticulture
• Pastoralism
• Intensive Agriculture
• Industrial

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Foraging

• Relies on wild plants and animals
• Food is stored in the environment.
• Foragers must know their environment intimately
• Must know not only WHERE resources are but WHEN
  they become available.

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Example !Kung San

• Kalahari desert (southern Africa)
• Sometimes known as Bushmen -not a respectful
  term of address.
• Now have been relocated to permanent villages.
  Not allowed to hunt.

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• Before the 1970s, !Kung lived in small, mobile
  bands.
• !Kung used simple technology but had a great
  knowledge of their environment.
• Game reserves now forbid !Kung from exploiting
  traditional territories

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• Despite the harshness of their environment, !Kung
  only had to work for 4 hours a day in the wet
  season.
• 90 of the calories in the traditional !Kung diet
  were from plant foods and not from meat.

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• Permanent settlements have lead to increasing
  hunger, disease and conflict. !Kung now rely on
  government handouts.
• Traditional !Kung life has been over-idealized in
  racist movies such as The Gods must be Crazy
• This lifestyle is now performed for tourists but
  is not possible in real life.

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Horticulture

• Also known as gardening
• Uses domesticated plants and animals
• Uses simple technology
• Top Loi kalo (taro pond-field) at Ulupo Heiau,
  Oahu
• Bottom Milpa (maize field) in Guatemala

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Example Slash and Burn

• Also called extensive farming.
• Forest is cut, allowed to dry out, then burned.
  The ash is mixed into the soil. Plots last a
  few years then must be allowed to lie fallow to
  rejuvenate

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• Horticulture produces more food per unit of land
  than foraging.
• Requires storage technology
• Requires intimate knowledge of environment.
• Villages or farmers must move when new fields are
  opened up.

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Pastoralism

• Relies on domestic animals.
• Can be carried out in areas with low rainfall
  that would not support farming.
• Often relies on trade with farming villages
  (meat or milk for grain)
• Top Maasai herder with cows
• Bottom Mongol herders with goats

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• Pastoralists are highly mobile. They follow
  migration routes from summer to winter grazing
  and back.
• Each group must monitor its own consumption of
  grass. Over-grazing will lead to conflict with
  other groups.
• Since they are mobile, they often raid one
  another and villagers.
• Historically they were hard to beat militarily
  until the development of the railway and the
  machine gun.

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Intensive Agriculture

• Uses domestic plants and animals.
• Differs from horticulture in the degree of
  investment in labor and technology (often
  includes irrigation systems, terracing, rice
  paddies, fertilizer etc.)

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• Intensive agriculture produces large surpluses,
  and hence can support large populations.
• Villages are large and permanent to defend
  land/crops
• Large families are an asset.

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• Intensive agriculture often involves draft
  animals (water buffalo, oxen etc.) as the amount
  of work involved is stupendous. Draft animals
  are often the most valuable possession a family
  has.

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Industrial Production

• Uses high levels of technology and energy
  investment.
• Uses industrial techniques to mass-produce crops
  or animals.
• Mass-production reduces unit-cost but also
  reduces diversity

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• In an industrial economy, only a tiny fraction of
  the population grows its own food.
• Industrial economies rely on infrastructure to
  get food to markets and to consumers.
• Poor infrastructure will make an industrial
  economy untenable