Week 6 - Subsistence

Question 1

“The quest for food affects…”

Answer 1

“…almost every aspect of daily life.”

Question 2

Foodways

Answer 2

Cultural norms and ideas about food and eating.
-Wagyu beef is “prestigious”, masculine, usually eaten with fork and knife.

Question 3

Foods as symbolism (examples within christianity)

Answer 3

-Christian bread and wine = body and blood
-Greek Baklava made w/ 33 layers to symbolize years of christ’s life
-Easter eggs symbolize new life

Question 4

Carrying Capacity

Answer 4

of calories that can be extracted from a particular piece of land to support human life

Question 5

Ester Boserup

Answer 5

Argued that there is a connection between population growth and cultural innovation, ESP w farming. POPULATION GOES UP, THEN PEOPLE ADAPT WITH INNOVATION! a bit antithetical to Thomas Malthus in this sense.

Question 6

Thomas Malthus

Answer 6

“Resource shortage will lead to famine and catastrophe.” In reality, though this is technically true, humans will often adapt and increase their ability to cultivate resources necessary for life.

Question 7

Population increase OR tech innovation comes first?

Answer 7

Population increase!

Question 8

Two Basic Categories of Subsistence

Answer 8

-Immediate Return System (Fishing, hunting, foraging)
-Delayed Return System (Farming)

Question 9

Four Modes of Subsistence

Answer 9

-Foraging
-Pastoralism
-Horticulture
-Agriculture

Question 10

Foraging

Answer 10

Subsistence System: “Hunting and Gathering”. The ONLY true immediate return system.
-Supports <5people/mi^2
-Relatively “Egalitarian” (though gender inequality can be present)
-Broad Spectrum Diet

Question 11

Egalitarianism

Answer 11

Belief that all people deserve equal treatment: in the context of this unit, this implies food sharing.

Question 12

Are foraging societies generally nomadic or sedentary?

Answer 12

Generally nomadic, but exceptions occur when resources are abundant.

Question 13

Perspectives on foraging (Hobbes, Sahlins)
(real time per week spent foraging?)

Answer 13

-Thomas Hobbes believed foraging is “nasty, brutish, and [leads to short lives].”
-Marshall Sahlins described foragers as “the original affluent society”
In reality, foraging groups spend OVER 70HRS/WEEK COLLECTING FOOD

Question 14

Domestication

Answer 14

Process of bringing animals and plants under human control. Early domestication was primarily for utility.

Question 15

Pastoralism

Answer 15

Herding of domesticated livestock: generally nomadic.
-Land management practices often improve health of the ecosystem
-Animals provide dairy products, fur, wool
-Milk products can comprise 60-65% of caloric intake

Question 16

Pastoralism and Power (and Gender)

Answer 16

Livestock = owning more means more affluence, however in some societies the women doing the work aren’t technically the owners of the livestock.

Question 17

Horticulture

Answer 17

Small-scale cultivation of crops… think a home garden providing most food
-Minimal tech use
-Crops usually used by community, not sold
-Focus on crops w high yield relative to labor

Question 18

Multicropping & Intercropping

Answer 18

Practiced by horticulturalists: growing a variety of plants in a biodiverse garden. Can develop into intercropping, where the plants being grown together are mutualistic and grow healthier.

Question 19

Horticulture and Gender/Societal structure

Answer 19

-Ownership of certain plants indicates high social status and attracts more social relationships

Question 20

Horticulture “Three Sisters”

Answer 20

Intercropping group that includes Beans, Corn, & Squash. Grown together by Native Americans in pre-colonial period

Question 21

Agriculture

Answer 21

Cultivation of domesticated plants and animals using technologies for more intensive & optimized use of land.
-Mechanization, irrigation, fertilizers, pesticide
-Tech includes scythes, hoes, and adzes
-High population growth & density

Question 22

Four Key Characteristics of Agriculture

Answer 22

-Staple Crops and Monocropping
-Intensive farming associatd with rapid population density increase
-Division of Labor among individuals. (specialized tasks per person)
-Can lead to wealth differences

Question 23

Agriculture staple crops & monocropping

Answer 23

Staple crops are those grown in abundance by an agricultural system, as they give a strong output with minimal labor. Usually these are convenient to grow, but crop failure is common.

Question 24

Neolithic Revolution

Answer 24

~10kya innovation in subsistence tech (scythes, hoes, adzes) led to agriculture
-Fertility rates increased greatly with the rise of agriculture for two reasons
–More ability to support denser populations
–Larger families could assist with the division of intense labor common in agriculture

Question 25

Inequality in Agriculture

Answer 25

Those who "own" the land the crops are being grown on have higher social status, often slavery and indentured servitude systems arise. DESPITE having enough agricultural capacity to support the world's population, 1/7 USA households face food insecurity

Question 26

Agriculture: Global Food System (and "world system")

Answer 26

"World System" = complex web of goods being sold, bought, traded internationally The number of steps from production to sales often leads to farmers seeing minimal financial returns.

Question 27

Foraging Case Study: The Aché

Answer 27

Good example of foraging societies having very broad diets. -33 mammals -15+ species of fish -various insects, types of honey -40 kinds of plants

Question 28

Foraging Case Study: Martu

Answer 28

Martu women use fire to hunt, serve also as controlled burns that help biodiversity and prevent wildfires

Question 29

Foraging Case Study: The Hazda

Answer 29

High diet diversity

Question 30

Where is pastoralism most prevalent?

Answer 30

Africa

Question 31

Pastoralism Case Study: The Maasai

Answer 31

-Group that lives in polygynous family units -Women do most of the work with cattle but men own the cattle -Protect wildebeest population

Question 32

Where is Horticulture most prevalent?

Answer 32

Tropical areas in South/Central America, Africa, SE Asia