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Subsistence Systems
ANT 252
26
Anthropology
Undergraduate 1
03/25/2012

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Term
Subsistence
Definition
getting food
Term
Malinowski
Definition
stated that subsistence is a basic need
Term
Hunting and Gathering
Definition
Food Collecting vs. Food Producing
Term
Important Lesson in History I
Definition
Humans may have walked the earth for as long as 5,000,000 years. Domestication of food commenced only 10,000 years ago. Industrial agriculture is less than 100 years old.
Term
Important Lesson in History II
Definition
If humans have lived on the earth for 1,000,000 years* then for 94% of that time humans were hunter-gatherers, for 6% of that time we were producers of domesticated plant foods, and for <1% of that time we have been industrial agriculturists.
Term
Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 1
Definition
Roam over and exploit a very extended territory or range. The San bushmen of the Kalahari Desert region exploit a very extensive territory in Southern Africa.
Term
Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 2
Definition
Nomadic = non sedentary. The San bushmen move frequently. This fact is reflect in the impermanence of their shelter and homes.
Term
Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 3
Definition
rely on human muscular energy. The San busmen stalk their prey on foot, and kill it with a spear or a bow.
Term
Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 4
Definition
Small group size
Term
Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 5
Definition
Low population density
Term
Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 6
Definition
Limited material culture
Term
Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 7
Definition
Egalitarian social structure - which does not mean "equal," it means that everyone enjoys the same access to critical resources.
Term
The Story of the Empty Coke Bottle
Definition
Coke bottle and the Bushmen. Book about it was called "The Gods Must be Crazy"
Term
Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 8
Definition
Informal Leadership
Term
Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 9
Definition
Hunting and Gathering is a negative feedback system - stable systems in which the expansion of one element is limited by the action of another element(s).
Term
10,000 Years Ago Everything Changed
Definition
domestication of plants occurred simultaneously around world and the domestication of animals.
Term
Horticultural Techniques
Definition
1. Fencing - largely to protect against domesticated animals
2. Weeding - to eliminate competing non-food plants
3. Watering - early horticultural societies invariably located by waterways.
Term
Consequences of Domestication - Horticulture
Definition
1. Larger populations
2. Denser populations
3. Emergence of villages
4. Sedentary lifestyle
5. Emergence of craft specialization
6. Emergence of class differentiation
7. Slash and Burn/Swidden
8. Horticulture is still a negative feedback system
Term
Slash and Burn
Definition
forest/grass
Term
Consequences of Domestication - Intensive/Industrial Agriculture
Definition
1. Appearance of cities
2. High degree of craft specialization
3. Complex political organization
4. Differences in status and wealth
5. Tendency for cash markets to exist
6. Larger population sizes and densities
7. Artificial additives to the system: fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides
8. Heavy reliance on water technology: pivot irrigation (Kansas)
9. Agriculture is a POSITIVE FEEDBACK SYSTEM - expanding in stability
Term
Why Domestication?
Definition
Hunting and Gathering was an extremely stable for of subsistence. Domestication, even horticulture, required additional labor. Increased population produced increased conflict, disease, and environmental degradation (among other populations)
Term
The Worldview of Agriculturists
Definition
1. Humans can generate the greatest crop yields per unit of land
2. Humans can make nature more productive
3. Humans dominate nature through technology
Term
Agriculture: The Great Paradox
Definition
1. Hunger and Starvation on massive scale for the 1st time in history
2. Decreased food security
3. Increased population pressure
4. Increased environmental degradation
5. Increased productivity actually leads to decreased
6. Productivity relative to need
7. Increased demand for scarce resource: water
8. Agriculture as practiced in unsustainable
Term
The Population Future
Definition
Agriculture is unsustainable. Some form of transition will be required. Mortality to increase due to disease and starvation.
Term
Ghost Acreage
Definition
maxed out resources. Extraterritorial land areas that give the mistaken impression of increased efficiency and productivity at home.
Term
Fish and Ghost Acreage
Definition
Large scale commercial fishing is a form of ghost acreage. Factory ships process fish on board and offload as "exports" without ever returning to the ships' home port
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