Page 109 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol III

928 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

The traditional subsistence system of the Tohono O'odham (Papago) of southern Arizona was
based on a mix of farming and foraging. This drawing shows a woman and man planting
corn with a digging stick.

men often move to live in their wife’s village, they fre- These horticultural societies found a system of cultivation
quently return to their clan’s village to participate in clan that was well suited to the vagaries of climate and soil
activities. Intervillage solidarity is maintained through fertility that constrained the intensification of produc-
visiting and through periodic feasts. tion. Moreover, many of these regions lacked animals
that could be easily domesticated or maintained in large
Contemporary herds, so they had to rely on hunting and fishing as a
Horticulture major source of protein.The result was a mixed economy
The transition to farming was a long-term process.At first, based on horticulture, hunting, fishing, gathering, and
the use of local plants involved relatively simple methods collecting, which molded social practices. Today horti-
of land preparation directed toward encouraging their pro- culture remains a viable way of life for many people,
ductivity, and these plants made a relatively minor contri- especially those living in the tropics. They share similar
bution to the overall diet. Construction of villages, midden social and political organizations and enjoy rich cultural
deposits, selective land clearance, fire, and other activities lives. Although Western agricultural economists once
provided the disturbed spaces in which pioneering seed- characterized their way of life as wasteful, these societies
bearing species thrived. Over time, new methods were have, in fact, found efficient ways of making a living in a
introduced to increase the productivity of those plants that challenging environment.
benefited from human interventions. In addition, animals
William F. Keegan
were domesticated and this freed some groups from the
need to obtain protein by hunting wild game. See also Agrarian Era; Agricultural Societies
In regions with a restricted growing season, farming
focused on a relatively small suite of highly productive
cultigens that could be grown in relatively permanent Further Reading
fields and then stored for later use. Horticulture contin- Childe,V. G. (1951). Social evolution. London: Watts.
ued in the form of house gardens where herbs, vegeta- Geertz, C. (1963). Agricultural involution. Berkeley: University of Cali-
fornia Press.
bles, medicinal plants, flowers, and other useful plants Grigg, D. B. (1974). The agricultural systems of the world. Cambridge,
were grown for household use. However, in the tropics UK: Cambridge University Press.
Johnson, A. W., & Earle, T. (1987). The evolution of human societies:
where food crops could be grown year round, complex
From foraging group to agrarian state. Stanford, CA: Stanford Uni-
systems of horticulture emerged that are still in use. versity Press.