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Culture and Human Agro-ecosystem Dynamics: the Tsembaga of New Guinea by John M. Anderies is a Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology article available to read on EtoBox.
What is Culture and Human Agro-ecosystem Dynamics: the Tsembaga of New Guinea about?
In his classic work, Pigs for the Ancestors, Roy Rappaport proposed that the ritual cycle of the Tsembaga was a mechanism to regulate human population growth and prevent the degradation of the Tsembaga ecosystem. Rappaport provided detailed ethnographic and ecological information to support his claim, but many aspects of Rappaport's model were subsequently criticised. Several simulation models of the Tsembaga ecosystem were constructed to test Rappaport's hypothesis (Shantzis & Behrens, 1973; Foin & Davis, 1984) and evaluate possible alternatives (e.g. Foin & Davis, 1987). The basic conclusions were that it was possible to develop models supporting Rappaport's hypothesis but they were extremely sensitive to parameter choices, and other simpler population control mechanisms might be more likely (Buchbinder, 1977; Foin & Davis, 1987). In this paper, a much simpler dynamical system model for a slash-and-burn agricultural system is developed and applied to the Tsembaga system. By analysing the structure of the model for different physical and socioeconomic conditions, sources of instability and possible stabilising mechanisms are identified. The model indicates that behavioral plastici
Who reads Culture and Human Agro-ecosystem Dynamics: the Tsembaga of New Guinea?
It is typically read by researchers, students, and practitioners in Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology.
- Author
- John M. Anderies
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science; Elsevier ; Elsevier Inc.; Elsevier BV (ISSN 0022-5193)
- Published
- 1998
- Language
- EN
- Field
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (Life Sciences)