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Modes of resource use
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- 2. Four Modes of ResourceUse Source: Madhav Gadgil and Ramachanra Guha, This Fissured Land: An Ecological History of India
- 3. From thelong sweep of human history, we can distil four distinct mode of resource use 1. Hunting- Gathering 2. Pastoralism 3. Settled Cultivation 4. Industrial mode
- 4. Characterisitcs of eachmode To be studied Aspects of technology Aspects of economy Aspects of social organization Aspects of ideology Nature of ecological impact
- 5. Hunting-Gathering- Technology Largestperiod of human history was spend within the hunting- gathering mode of resource use Period in which hunting and gathering were main stay of subsistence In this mode societies depend largely on human muscle power They also depend on naturally available plants, animals, stones etc. to fulfill their material requirements The ability to store food and materials is limited as is the ability to transport materials over long distances
- 6. The diversityof plant and animal matter consumed from the social groups immediate surroundings is high But actual variety of resources used altogether is small, while the quantities consumed are restricted to subsistence needs Hunting societies respond to variations in the resource availability by fine tuned adaptations to local conditions In the harsher environment, they subsist as nomadic bands, in the more suitable environments, they exist as tribal groups confined to small territories
- 7. Social organization Thesizes of social groups are small; kin groups of the order of a few hundreds. There were hardly an transactions outside such groups Division of labour within these group is also minimal primarily based on age and sex Women mainly involved in gathering plant foods and smaller animals and men in hunting larger animals In gathering mode, there is little variation among members of a group in terms of access to resources Notion of private property was not developed Kinship based organization might have broken up only when gatherers came into contact with people who work within more advanced modes of resource use
- 8. Economy Flow ofresources are largely closed on spatial scales. While there may be some flow of materials like stone tools or shells over larger distances , they are rather insignificant when compared to food and other resources utilized by man So the demand on the resource base may be small compared to the overall availability In course of time, technological innovations like bow and arrow opened up a new range of species to prey upon.
- 9. Ideology To gatherers,with their limited knowledge base, nature is beyond human control They regard human as merely part of a community of beings that include all living- non living elements They attribute sacred qualities to trees, rivers, mountains etc. These ideologies of nature worship, are supported by specific social practises which orient societies in the gathering mode towards the prudent use of nature
- 10. Ecological impact Gatherersocieties with low population density and low per capita resource demands number of practices that promote sustainable resource use. Though widespread extinction of large mammalian species was a consequence of human hunting, ecological impact was minimal.
- 11. Pastoralism – Technology Domestication of animals coincided with the withdrawal of glaciers 10000 years ago Climatic and changes in vegetation prompted man to intensify resource use- initiate agriculture and animal husbandry. The two process often gone in hand in hand Cultivation has been of greater significance in tracts of moderate to high rainfall and temperature Animal husbandry in tracts of low rainfall and at the higher altitudes
- 12. Animal husbandrybase in such tracts on moving herds from place to place often over several hundred kilometers Pastorals have access to animal muscle power, an important additional source of energy. Animals also serve as a source of food The period witnessed increasing flexibility in the use of different habitats
- 13. Economy Nomadic pastoralswere critical in creating flow of resources over distance scales greater than those on gatherer societies They also served as carriers of information about resources of distant regions and technologies of other societies They acquired resources from settled agricultural societies in exchange for materials
- 14. Social set up Social groups remain limited to kin groups To a small extent, they came in contact with other groups Division of labour is fairly limited. Women involved in feeding, milking and tending animals whereas men decided the migration routes and herd animals while on the move In this mode, private property began to emerge Herds were owned by separate household but pastoral lands were held in common.
- 15. Ideology Nomadic pastoralswere the first societies to perceive human communities as separate from nature and therefore in a position to dominate it. Unlike gatherers or settled cultivators, they have little need to pacify nature. In the event of shortage, they move themselves to more resource abundant area
- 16. Ecological impact Forcibleextraction of resources controlled by settled communities constitute a significant part of their strategy of resource acquisition They were unlikely to evolve a strong tradition of careful resource use. Pastorals also contributed to a gradual overgrazing and expansion of arid regions Though at minimal level, they contributed to ecological degradation through trade and diffusion of technology over long distance and perhaps most importantly by disseminating the belief in man’s control over nature.
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