The document discusses different subsistence systems used by human societies to obtain food, including foraging, horticulture, intensive cultivation, pastoralism, and equestrian hunting. It explains the key features of each system and how they relate to environmental adaptation and cultural complexity. Subsistence systems are seen as influencing social organization, population levels, and cultural evolution from simple to more complex forms as environments are modified through different technologies.

1. Subsistence Systems Making a Living Cross-Culturally

2. What are Subsistence Systems? Ways of making a living--directly Types of subsistence Systems Foraging/Hunting and Gathering Horticulture Intensive Cultivation or Agriculture Pastoralism Equestrian Hunting

3. Why Study Subsistence Systems? Kingdom: Animalia: We cannot produce food by photosynthesis--no chlorophyll Therefore, we ultimately rely on plants We are how we produce Foragers are organized around the hunting and the gathering So are horticulturists in horticulture So are all the others

4. Subsistence Systems and Adaptation Culture is largely adaptive Main locus of adaptation: subsistence As subsistence systems become more complex Societies become more complex Therefore societies evolve from the simple to the complex

5. Overview Subsistence systems Principles of cultural materialism Cultural Evolution Cultural Ecology History of evolutionary thought

6. Types of Subsistence Systems Foraging or Hunting Gathering : Hunting animals, gathering plants Horticulture: Cultivation with digging stick, hoe, or other hand tool(s) Intensive Cultivation: Cultivation with high-yield technology: irrigation, plow Pastoralism: Herding large animals Equestrian Hunting: Hunting using draft animals (horse, reindeer)

7. Foraging: Main Features Food is where you find it Direct dependence on naturally available plants and animals Plant foods (like these mongongo nuts gathered by !Kung women) Form 80% of the diet among most foragers Near total reliance on hunting is rare (as among the seal-hunting Inuit here) Fluctuation of food sources by place, season, and year Means of meat storage rare or nonexistent Foragers do have wide variety of food

8. Foraging: Carrying Capacity Population limited by Carrying capacity: population resources can support Density of social relations Liebig’s Law of the Minimum Populations may not increase Beyond the minimum amount of critical resources That an environment yields

9. Liebig’s Law of the Minimum Illustrated The lowest stave of a barrel limits its capacity Crops can yield only as much As the amount of a critical nutrient Applies to carrying capacity limits

10. Foraging: Sharing and Property Sharing ethic: shared according to rules Netsilik Inuit: Partnerships by seal anatomy !Kung: Hunters and owner of arrow “own” the game Owner is only stewardship Game is shared by definite obligations Property: Communalism

11. Foraging: Other Derived Characteristics Egalitarianism No incentive to hoard Social class differences minimal Work time Average: 15-20 hours/week Nonintensive labor with other activities Domestic mode of production: work done until needs are met

12. Foragers: Contemporary Ancestors? Some societies may reflect early foragers Qualifications Foragers could be deculturated !Kung may have been herdsman once Reduced to foraging by Bantu expansion Foragers occupy margins of earth Desert (SW Africa, Australia, Nevada basin) Extremely cold regions (Arctic regions)

13. Food-Producing Societies First indications: Neolithic ca 10,000 BP In the Fertile Crescent, Near East Characteristics Domestication of Plants (emmer wheat), animals, or both Human control over food production Quantities of food greater than foragers Settled communities (except herders) Increases in population Complex social structures.

14. Horticulture Definition Cultivation of crops Carried out with hand tools Such as digging sticks or hoes Neither plows or irrigation systems are used Best known type of cultivation involves use of slash-and-burn or swidden cultivation

15. Basics of Slash-and-Burn Cultivation A site is cleared of brush and trees Trees are felled, brush stacked Once dried, the brush and trees are set afire (top photo). Planting begins Usually, crops are interplanted Once soil is exhausted, site is abandoned (bottom photo) Cultivators clear a new site

16. Slash-and-Burn Cultivation: Adaptive Significance Most slash-and-burn cultivation is practiced in the tropics Tropical climate is extremely hard on soils Intense heat Heavy rainfall Chemical reaction from heat and rain Slash-and-burn is best adapted to this climate--which the following will show

17. Constants of Tropical Rainforest: Intense Heat Plant and animal matter decompose to form humus or topsoil Humus formatio virtually stops if soil reaches 77 degrees Fahrenheit Decomposition of humus exceed formation Humic materials break down to gases: ammonia, nitrogen, carbon dioxide Gases escape into the atmosphere

18. Constants of Tropical Rainforest: Rainfall Rainfall acts on the soil in two ways Erosion: Rainfall carries away soil particles Particles themselves scour surface] Abrasion carries off even more soil Leaching Warm water dissolves water-soluble nutrients Nutrients seep into subsoil

19. Constants of Tropical Rainforest: Laterization Laterite: the oxides of minerals Such as iron oxide at top layer (photo) Combined heat and moisture creates oxides Process is irreversible Removes phosphorus, an essential nutrient Cannot absorb other nutrients

20. A Long-Term Constant: Age of Soil This process has been going for centuries Soil is mostly clay and sand Plant and animal life is limited in protein Most plants reproduce by vegetative means Seeds involve large amounts of protein Animals are small Gregarious (herding) animals are rare

21. Adaptation of Tropical Rainforests Protective canopy of leaves and epiphytic plants Rate of growth Juxtaposition of different types of trees

22. Protective Canopy Mature forests contain trees with thick foliage at their tops Thick network of leafy branches Epiphytic plants that derive nutrients from rain and air Protective functions Provide protective shade from sun, allowing humus to accumulate Lessens action and amount of rainfall

23. Rate of Growth Rate of growth is spectacular Enables rapid use of nutrients before they disappear through erosion or leaching Litter fall of animal remains and dead vegetation Is four times of woodland in New York state Rainfall also captures nutrients from air 75% of potassium in soil, 40% of magnesium, and 25% of phosphorus come from rainwater

24. Species Juxtaposition Different tree species have different nutrient requirements Some require more phosphorus than others Other require more potassium Nutrient left by one tree is taken by others Dispersal of same species is protection against pests and diseases

25. Clean clearing would Compact the soil due to heavy rainfall Erosion via runoff would increase Minimize or eliminate formation of humus Leach the soil Convert the soil into laterite Overall: reduce its fertility

26. Slash-and-Burn Cultivation Technique Review of distinctive features Cutting and burning vegetation prior to planting Shifting to new site after 2 or 3 crops Mundurucú practices Site selection: sloping, well-drained area Clearing Removal of shrubs and small trees Felling of trees by keystone method

27. Slash-and-Burn Cultivation Technique: Burning and Planting Mundurucú practices (con’t) Burning Vegetation allowed to dry: 2 months Fire set on day of slight breeze to fan flames Planting Begins at first rains: no cultivation Hole made with digging stick Cuttings or seeds inserted and covered Manioc and sweet potatoes in center Other crops planted at edges

28. Slash-and-Burn Cultivation: Weeding and Harvest Weeding Done twice during growing season Harvest Planting is staggered; so is harvesting Harvesting done as need arises Entire crop is not removed at one time Manioc replanted immediately after harvest to ensure permanent supply

29. Slash-and-Burn Cultivation as Imitation of Rainforest Crops are intermixed, each with different nutrient requirements Reduces competition for same nutrient Dispersal of same plants retard disease, pests Staggering planting and harvest minimizes soil exposure Burning slash returns nutrients to soil

30. Slash and Burn Cultivation as Imperfect Imitation of Rainforest Decomposition of stumps and branches Attract pests away from crops Supply added nutrients Weeding of mixed value Minimizes competition for nutrients Reduces shade and protection from erosion Imitation not the real thing Yield declines by 3rd year--time to move

31. Yanomamo Variations Techniques essentially the same Plantains augment manioc as staple When soil deteriorates Thorny shrubs grow, scratching bare skin Some plants continue yields New clearing is made adjacent to old site Done so over the years New sites cleared only under compulsion

32. The Protein debate Harris: arises when game is scarce Chagnon: conflict sparked by abduction of women Good: Weighed every game animal on scale Weighed every Yanomamo villager Findings: Yanomamo were short on protein Could not link this fact with warfare Debate remains open: Tierney’s view

33. Intensive Cultivation Definition Embers’: Food production characterized by the permanent cultivation of fields Primary attributes Technology Irrigation Plow Staple crops: rice, corn, wheat, potatoes Risks of famine through disease, pests

34. Intensive Cultivation: Secondary Attributes Permanent settlements of high density Emergence of full-time nonfarm occupations Rise of specialization and trade Rise of complex societies Cities Stratification Codified Law States and the military

35. Pastoralism Definition Animal husbandry as the main or sole source of subsistence Animals: cattle, horses, sheep, goats, camels All parts of animal is consumed Meat and dairy products, blood Hides Even dung for fire and building material

36. Pastoralism: Secondary Characteristics Environment: semi-arid grasslands; other regions unsuitable for agriculture Nomadic: Transhumance: seasonal migration between different environmental zones. Property and valuables are portable Dependence on settled communities Agriculture and manufactured products Mixed economy lessens dependence

37. Pastoralism: Secondary Characteristics (Con’t) Warfare Raid of villages or other nomads Predatory states: Mongols Warrior age grades in East Africa Male dominance Warfare required male cooperation Animals are male property Residence is patrilocal Women have few rights

38. Pastoralism: Conclusion Incomplete food producers Animals, not plants, are domesticated Archaeological evidence suggest Pastoralism postdates cultivation. May have left settled regions By choice by force Probably not a transitional form between foraging and agriculture

39. Equestrian Hunting Definition Use of animals (horse reindeer) To hunt other animals (bison, reindeer) A rare phenomenon Plains Indians hunting complex was not indigenous before 18th century Native horses died off long before contact Sources: stray horses lost by Spaniards

40. Equestrian Hunting: Characteristics Similar to pastoralism Environment: grassland rendered unsuitable for hoe agriculture by sod Bison moved seasonally Large herds in spring and summer Scattered in late fall and winter Tribes moved accordingly Reminiscent of transhumance

41. Equestrian hunting: Warlike Attributes Higher mobility using horse increased military superiority Settle peoples may have adopted horse in self-defense A causal factor: trade with whites Competition for trade center access Even more buffalo hunted for trade Horse theft for another trade good Valued trade item: guns

42. Subsistence, Adaptation, and Evolution Cultural materialism : A research strategy (or plan) holding that causal explanations for similarities and differences among human groups can best be addressed by studying the harnessing of energy Through interaction between existing technology And environmental limitations

43. Unilineal and Multilineal Evoluton Models of Cultural Evolution Unilineal Evolution (Left) All societies go through set stages (foraging, horticulture, agriculture) Multilineal Evolution Societies adapt evolution according to Environment Techniques of subsistence

44. Technology, Environment, and Society Environment: Limits and Potential to Energy Technology: Known Techniques for Energy Capture and Use Social Interactions: Derivative Family/Kinship, Economic, Political, and Legal Institutions Ideology: Psychological State, Supernatural Beliefs, The Arts

45. Comparison and Evaluation Examined five broad subsistence systems. Examined the implications of each on a society and culture Traced their significance in Local and regional adaptations (cultural ecology) Universal cultural evolution Within intellectual historical context