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The transition to agriculture is regarded as a major turning point in human history. In the present contribution we propose to look at it through the lens of ethnographic data by means of a machine learning approach. More specifically, we analyse both the subsistence economies and the socioecological context of 1290 societies documented in the Ethnographic Atlas with a threefold purpose: (i) to better understand the variability and success of human economic choices; (ii) to assess the role of environmental settings in the configuration of the different subsistence economies; and (iii) to examine the relevance of fishing in the development of viable alternatives to cultivation. All data were extracted from the publicly available cross-cultural database D-PLACE. Our results suggest that not all subsistence combinations are viable, existing just a subset of successful economic choices that appear recurrently in specific ecological systems. The subsistence economies identified are classified as either primary or mixed economies in accordance with an information-entropy-based quantitative criterion that determines their degree of diversification. Remarkably, according to our results, mixed economies are not a marginal choice, as they constitute 25% of the cases in our data sample. In addition, fishing seems to be a key element in the configuration of mixed economies, as it is present across all of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses concepts of self‐government, dependence and independence in the light of Tokelau and New Zealand practices. Kin‐based forms of mutual dependence are compared with the demands for specific forms of self‐governance practiced by the New Zealand administration. Tensions of value have emerged between village based political leadership, and the public servants of the administrative infrastructure. The smallness of Tokelau's land area is complemented by its considerable maritime resources secured by an Exclusive Economic Zone. Tokelau's need for New Zealand administrative support to administer its fishing quotas, and for military policing of its maritime boundaries, makes Tokelau dependent on the greater power. The relationships of dependency going the other way, that is New Zealand's dependence on the marine wealth of Tokelau and its strategic value as Pacific partner, are largely obscured by the policies that demand Tokelau reaches an internationally approved standards of governmental practices for it to be able to govern its own affairs. The two forms of dependency, one based on reciprocity and mutuality, and the other, rooted in an economic logic of self‐sufficiency are entangled in everyday life in Tokelau. However, the practices of economic self‐sufficiency work over time to erode the viability of the local subsistence economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Zooarchaeology can answer questions relating to the impact of the political economy on the subsistence economy. • Wool production was a key sector of the political economy in northern Mesopotamia in the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. • We synthesize age-at-death and biometrical data of sheep/goats from Late Chalcolithic through Middle Bronze sites. • We highlight methodological limitations of zooarchaeological investigations of wool production. • Bayesian modeling shows some changes in caprine production in a few localities, but no major change on a regional level. An important facet in the study of complex societies involves documenting how the extraction of resources to support political structures (the political economy) impacted the subsistence economy of everyday life. Caprine production was a central feature of ancient Mesopotamian subsistence, while ancient texts reveal that wool was centrally important to the region's political economies. It has long been thought that at some point in the Chalcolithic or Bronze Age (c. 4500–1500 BC) caprine husbandry was reorganized at the regional level to support the wool industry that was so dear to state finance and elite wealth. Here, we use kill-off patterns and biometrics to test whether caprine husbandry patterns across northern Mesopotamia underwent a regionwide transformation. We synthesize existing data and use Bayesian modeling to estimate average sheep size, male–female ratio, and harvesting patterns targeting older sheep. We confirm previous assessments that document an increase in sheep size in the 4th millennium BC. We find no pattern in male–female ratios. Diachronic kill-off data from across the region show subtle and local shifts in the slaughter of older caprines. While ambiguities in the data persist, there is no evidence of a dramatic shift toward intensive wool production at the regional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a rejoinder to Gill et alia (2021), Martin (2022) accuses us of perpetuating misconceptions about human nutrition and erroneously describing geophytes as a dietary staple. We provide authoritative definitions for the terms "essential" and "dietary staple" to show that it is Martin who mischaracterizes and misunderstands the foundational role of geophytes and other plant foods to human diets and subsistence economies in Native North America outside of the Arctic. Recent data demonstrate that carbohydrate-rich geophytes were abundant, regularly utilized, and essential resources on the Northern Channel Islands, a dietary staple that was a rich source of calories and complemented the protein-rich shellfish and finfish that were also staple foods for the Island Chumash. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ghost Islands is a series of installations which investigates numerous fishing related activities, invisible stories, and multiple cultures. As part of a network of artworks set up in different regions of Asia, it addresses the issue of fishing nets discarded or lost at sea, as well as the health of our oceans, corals, and sea creatures. Shaped in the form of a group of islands and made from a complex assemblage of bamboo poles and disused fishing nets, Ghost Islands are composed by the accumulation and stratification of these numerous, yet distinct, layers. In addition, the construction of each new island helps to clean up the marine ecosystem through the collection of the nets from the surrounding sea. This process also engages with activist divers and establishes connections with fisherman to create new domestic products with the broken nylon threads of the collected nets.

The Taihu Lake region is an important area where China’s rice agriculture originated and where early Chinese civilisation formed. Knowing how this ecologically sensitive area’s Neolithic residents adapted to environmental changes and utilised natural resources is key to understanding the origins of their agricultural practices and civilisation. Focusing on food resources, we systematically organised data from archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological research, human bone stable isotopic analyses, and fatty acid and proteome residue analyses on the Taihu Lake area’s Neolithic findings to explore the interrelationships between subsistence, the environment, and society through qualitative and quantitative analysis supported by paleoenvironmental and archaeological evidence. The results showed that during the Neolithic era (7.0–4.3 ka BP), under a suitable climate with stable freshwater wetland environments, 38 varieties of edible animals and plants were available to humans in the Taihu Lake area. Despite agriculture being an important food source, rice cultivation and husbandry developed at different paces. Paddy rice cultivation began in wetlands and had always dominated the subsistence economy, as although gathering was universal and diverse, it produced a relatively low volume of food. In contrast, husbandry did not provide sufficient meat throughout the 2000 years of the Majiabang and Songze Cultures. Thus, fishing for freshwater organisms and hunting for wild mammals were the main meat sources before the domestication of pigs became the primary source of meat during the Liangzhu Cultural period. With the available wetland ecological resources and paddy rice farming (the sole crop), the Taihu Lake area transformed into an agricultural society in which rice cultivation dominated the Songze Culture’s subsistence economy, which was also the first to exhibit social complexity. Then, finally, early civilisation developed in the Liangzhu Cultural period. This study contributes to understanding the unique evolutionary path of early Chinese civilisation and has important implications on sustainable resource utilisation for constructing ecological civilisations in present-day societies.

Mixed economies provide a unique context for testing theories of fertility change. Because they have a stake in two traditions, mixed-economy households balance the demands of both a labor-based subsistence economy, which benefits from a large family, and a wage-labor economy, which benefits from reduced fertility. Additionally, household size changes over the course of its life-cycle and shapes available economic opportunities. Here we argue that in mixed economies, fertility may reflect opportunities for livelihood diversity rather than simply responding to the restricted socioeconomic benefits of small families. While low fertility may in some cases have an economic benefit, low fertility can also limit the livelihood diversity of a household which is a key strategy for long-term economic success. We test this prediction with longitudinal data from a Maya community undergoing both a sustained decline in fertility and rapid integration into the market economy. Using household-level fertility, number of adults, and livelihood diversity at two time points, we find that household size is positively related to livelihood diversity, which in turn is positively related to household income per-capita. However, household size also has a negative association with income per capita. The results reflect a balancing act whereby households attempt to maximize the economic diversity with as few members as possible. Broadly, these results suggest that theories of fertility decline must account for how households pool resources and diversify economic activities in the face of increasing market integration, treating fertility as both an outcome and an input into economic and reproductive decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorting waste at-source (or household recycling) helps optimize the efficiency of waste management systems and safeguard the health of waste handlers. Recently, segregation of waste has become an urgent policy imperative that has been written into national waste management policies in India. While urban Indian households have had a long-standing tradition of segregating and selling high-value recyclables to actors in the informal sector, in contemporary policy discourse, women are constructed as recalcitrant urban subjects who need to be disciplined in accordance with the new mandates of waste segregation. This paper locates these processes of subject formation within the changing political economy of waste. Waste sorting is a labor-intensive process, and certain waste management technologies require presorted materials. In addition, presorted recyclables also offer up a source of revenue for waste management service providers. Beyond seeing the need for source segregation simply in abstract environmental and public health interests, this paper argues for contextualizing this imperative within the ongoing processes of privatization and mechanization of waste management systems. These processes dispossess informal waste collectors from their means of subsistence while relying on the unpaid labor of certain women, thus reproducing gender, class, and caste relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban space is monetized. Survival in urban areas is therefore largely dependent on the dictates of methodological individualism, capitalist norms and values, which are invariably linked to rent-seeking and instrumentalism in most urban transactions. The urban poor in Ghana, who are mostly informal sector workers, face enormous challenges in transacting with banks and other financial institutions. This challenge, however, does not prevent them from participating in the money market. They devise strategies of savings and acquiring loans largely on interest-free basis. They also invest in informal activities to financially secure themselves and their future. This paper discusses the mechanisms that regulate the institutionalization of informal savings and investments in urban poor communities in Accra and Winneba in Ghana. It is based on a qualitative research conducted between 2014 and 2016 with 133 participants in four Ghanaian communities using purposive sampling technique. The study employs the concept of equality matching to discuss urban financial common strategies. The paper attempts to debunk the hegemony of the capitalist profit perspective in urban transactions, emphasizing that the urban poor in Ghana mobilize their finances through established social relations with largely no profit-making in mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stone knife and stone muller are common artefacts belonging to the Neolithic period sites in the Yangtze River Basin, China. The Dawangling archaeological site is an important Neolithic site located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River. One stone knife and one stone muller were excavated from the Neolithic layer and examined using starch residue analysis to determine the functions of these tools. More than 165 starch granules and a few bordered pits of tracheid were retrieved from the residues of these stone tools. The results of starch granule analysis show that stone knife and stone muller were probably agricultural processing tools for ancient humans at the Dawangling site during the Neolithic period and hint at the possible existence of a broadspectrum subsistence economy during the Neolithic period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the role of high‐yielding maize varieties as one of the key drivers of smallholder farmers' market participation in a highly subsistence rural economy. The analysis is based on the End‐of‐Program Survey data collected by the Seeds of Life program in 2016 covering 700 households in rural Timor‐Leste. The results reveal significant positive impacts of technology adoption on farmers' market participation. Households where women are relatively more active in agriculture than men are more likely to engage in agricultural commerce. The results also show a positive impact of technology adoption on maize productivity. These findings present the first empirical evidence of the causal link between technology adoption and market participation choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-resolution multi-proxy study of lake sediments from Loughbrick Bay in Lough Arrow, County Sligo, Ireland provides a detailed record of Neolithic vegetation history and land-use change. The high concentration of megalithic monuments around Lough Arrow suggests that the region was a centre of settlement and ritual activity during the Irish Neolithic. The pollen record indicates that human activities, including farming, intensified ca. 100 years after the mid-Holocene elm decline, which is dated to 3820 bc. Pastoral and arable farming formed part of the Neolithic subsistence economy, in particular during the first half of the Neolithic. Although levels of human impact were low during most of the later Neolithic, allowing woodland recovery, short periods of arable farming recurred during that time. Human pressure on the landscape increased again at the end of the Neolithic and during the Chalcolithic period. Interruption of farming and settlement activities often coincided with wetter climate. Comparison of this study with records from nearby lakes shows that the type of farming varied at a local scale. While pastoral farming was widespread, cereal cultivation was spatially and temporally restricted. The pollen evidence suggests that wheat was the predominant crop during the earlier Neolithic, whereas barley became more important during the later Neolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, based in the body of strategic orientation literature, identifies and explores the practices of innovativeness, proactiveness and competitive aggressiveness that make up the strategic orientation implemented by subsistence entrepreneurs to improve business performance. A factor analysis was carried out using the data of 101 entrepreneurs, small artisanal business owners who operate in the subsistence markets in Oaxaca, Mexico. The results show that subsistence entrepreneurs notably engage in innovative and proactive practices, and, to a lesser extent, competitive aggressiveness. The research concludes that a combination of innovativeness with proactiveness is the most viable option for improving performance, whereas competitive aggressiveness impedes its development. Even so, however, it is still implemented by subsistence businesses in order to conserve their market share. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An introduction is presented for a special section in this issue of the "Journal of Marketing Management" which focuses on subsistence marketplaces and includes the topics of mobile money services in rural Cambodia, of artisanal business owners in Mexico, and of social entrepreneurship.

Many people believe that the widespread dissemination of digital technologies automatically causes positive outcomes in political democratisation and socio-economic development. In this article, this claim is briefly examined for the supposed ‘Facebook Revolutions’ of the Arab Spring, as well as for the economic benefits of the mobile phone. Close scrutiny reveals, in fact, that technology’s impact is not necessarily positive. Instead, technology only amplifies underlying human intent and capacity; hence, positive outcomes with technology are wholly dependent on competent, well-intentioned stakeholders. The article concludes with the consequences and recommendations for those interested in applying their technical or entrepreneurial skills to subsistence communities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent years, in-depth, on-the-ground research has generated many insights into the nature and functioning of subsistence marketplaces and the people who operate in them. Such knowledge is bound to be useful to various companies and organisations, as they seek to engage such marketplaces, particularly for marketing managers, who quite likely have not had education or experience in marketing in such impoverished settings. This paper complements these practical insights with a normative ethical framework, presented in the marketing literature and labelled the integrative justice model (IJM) for impoverished markets, so as to synthesise a new framework for fair and sustainable marketing for social entrepreneurs in the context of subsistence marketplaces. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The mobile phone has increasingly become a channel for providing access to formal financial services. There is a need to understand how financial service offerings, increasingly accessed through mobile phones, impact marketing interactions, specifically marketing exchange activities and social network relationships, to enhance consumer well-being (CWB) in subsistence marketplaces. Through interviews and contextualised observational research in rural Cambodia, findings reveal that the impacts of mobile money services on marketing interactions in relation to CWB can be categorised at two distinct levels. The first-level impact is the actual physical money transfer transactions as part of the marketing exchange activities which leads to the second-level impact on the social network relationships at interpersonal, social group and cultural levels. Drawing from these insights, policy-makers and industry stakeholders can formulate strategies and develop innovative service offerings through mobile phone technology to enhance CWB in subsistence marketplaces. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Drawing on parallels from Jewish, Greco-Roman, and Early Christian sources alongside of sociological models of agriculture in subsistence economies, this essay makes the case for the presence (if not preponderance) of child shepherds among those who receive the angelic message in Luke 2:1–20. By engaging a childist reading that both considers the position of the shepherds with regards to their economic and social standing in Bethlehem and re-reads the angelic message and proclamation of an infant as sign in light of such a youthful audience, this essay reframes the perceived identity of the Bethlehem shepherds to foreground the children in their midst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data collected from a fishery-dependent monitoring program between 1992 and 2015 and supplemental information collected in 1978 and 1987 were used to inform a population assessment of anadromous Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) from the Kuujjua River, Northwest Territories. The stock is important for the subsistence and economy of residents from the hamlet of Ulukhaktok in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. Arctic Char from the Kuujjua River stock are harvested during summer when feeding along the coast in a mixed-stock fishery, and during winter (under-ice) while overwintering in Tatik Lake. The monitoring program conducted during the winter fishery employed subsistence fishers from Ulukhaktok to collect harvest, catch-effort, and biological data for the majority of the duration of the fishery. Catch-effort in Tatik Lake varied without trend although the frequency of relatively high values (> 125 Arctic Char/100 m/24 hours) increased from 2006 to 2015. The biological data reveal the winter fishery harvests Arctic Char mainly between 500 and 700 mm, 1,000 and 3,500 g, and 8 and 12 years of age. Mean length and weight increased from 533 to 633 mm and 1,893 to 3,354 g, respectively, between 2008 and 2012, and have been relatively stable through 2015. Mean age increased from 8.3 to 10.3 years between 2010 and 2012 and was then stable through 2015 with the consistent presence of fish = 15 years of age. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters of Arctic Char from Tatik Lake were L∞= 703, K= 0.42, and t0= 2.61, with no statistically significant difference between sexes. The mean length of fish 9 to 12 years of age increased beginning in 2008 and continued through 2015. Over the time-series, mean length and weight, and length-atage followed a quasi-cyclic pattern. Condition factor remained relatively high (K = 1.2) and stable from 2008 to 2015, which suggests feeding opportunities were favorable for growth during this period. The annual mortality rate between 2011 and 2015 was stable (~ 30%). Where comparisons were possible, some similarities were observed between the biological data collected from the 1992-2015 monitoring, and data collected from this same fishery in 1978 and 1987. Collectively, the catch and monitoring data through 2015 indicate that the Kuujjua River population is not experiencing overfishing and the current stock status is healthy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of ESTOA: Revista de la Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo de la Universidad de Cuenca is the property of ESTOA Revista de la Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo de la Universidad de Cuenca and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article examines fibre procurement, fibre technologies and type preferences at northern Chile’s Caleta Vitor archaeological complex – a coastal site with archaeological deposits representing more than 10,000 years of occupation. Data obtained from textile analysis, stable isotopes, and historical documents provided evidence of a marine subsistence economy heavily reliant on composite fibre implements, highlighting the early predominance of plant fibres, along with camelid fibres and the introduction of Gossypium barbadense (cotton) in the Formative Period. The study also provides evidence of a previously unknown local camelid fibre source, challenging the long-held hypothesis that camelid fibre at low altitude sites is a proxy for trade with high altitude populations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uptake of improved agricultural technologies like banana tissue culture still remains low despite the efforts that have been put in place to enhance its adoption. A survey was carried out on 115 small holder farmers in central Uganda to establish the influence of various socio-economic factors on the adoption of tissue culture banana between January and July 2018. Findings from the study revealed that respondents' main occupation (P = 0.028), market accessibility (P = 0.006) and proximity to source of planting materials (P = 0.000) were the major drivers to adoption of tissue culture banana. The study thus recommended establishment of regional distribution centers for tissue culture banana plantlets, increased investment in extension in order to strengthen the farmer-researcher linkage and increased market access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Realidad Economica is the property of Realidad Economica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Archaeologists typically associate resource intensification with population expansion, environmental change, and political strategizing. Many Late Woodland and Mississippian societies of the Southeast eschewed dietary diversity in favor of harvesting fewer types of resources that could meet the subsistence demands of incipient aggregation. Foods such as maize and shellfish can provide humans with predictable caloric yields and are amenable to control by individuals or corporate groups. However, some archaeologists have identified scenarios in which small-scale societies intensified resources in the absence of population growth and social inequality. Ritual economies can periodically place high demands on the materials used for gatherings and ceremonies. These events then may leave material residues of economic intensification, which archaeologists might easily mistake as evidence for population expansion or social evolution. We use diversity and equitability estimates of zooarchaeological deposits from Crystal River (8CI1) and Roberts Island (8CI41), Florida, to demonstrate that some Woodland period societies periodically intensified their use of resources amidst population decline and heightened ritual activity. We suggest that the inhabitants of the area harvested shellfish at increasingly high rates to provide the material basis for a series of ritual interventions that aimed to circumvent the effects of rapid social and ecological change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Input subsidy programs (ISPs) are an important agricultural development strategy in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Past studies have focused on the impact of ISPs on crop production, food security and poverty. Little attention has been devoted to assessing their impact on crop diversification, which is a strategy for managing production risk and improving soil fertility under cereal-based smallholder production environments in SSA. Meanwhile, there is growing debate on whether ISPs may conflict with the crop diversification strategy by promoting crop concentration. We estimate cropland allocation and diversification models to test this hypothesis for two ISPs in Botswana, Accelerated Rainfed Arable Programme (ARAP) and Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development (ISPAAD), using panel data of agricultural regions and the cropping seasons of 1978/79 to 2013/14. Results reveal that ISPs have induced increased concentration on cereals, away from beans/pulses and oil crops, leading to reduced cropland diversification. ARAP induced a 6.7 percentage point rise in cereal area share and a 5.2 (1.4) percentage point fall in beans/pulses (oil crops) area share. Similarly, ISPAAD induced a 4.4 percentage point rise in cereal area share and a 4.1 percentage point fall in beans/pulses area share. By discouraging legume production, ISPs may lead to soil fertility loss, as legumes may help rebuild nitrogen stocks in soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores pig husbandry across the Aegean and Anatolia based on zooarchaeological data and ancient texts. The western Anatolian citadel of Kaymakçı is the departure point for discussion, as it sits in the Mycenaean-Hittite interaction zone and provides a uniquely large assemblage of pig bones. NISP, mortality, and biometric data from 38 additional sites across Greece and Anatolia allows observation of intra- and interregional variation in the role of pigs in subsistence economies, pig management, and pig size characteristics. Results show that, first, pig abundance at Kaymakçı matches Mycenaean and northern Aegean sites more closely than central, southern, and southeastern Anatolian sites; second, pig mortality data and biometry suggest multiple husbandry strategies and pig populations at Kaymakçı, but other explanations cannot yet be excluded; and, third, for the Aegean and Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age more generally, pig data suggests pluriformity, which challenges the use of "pig principles" in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Realidad Economica is the property of Realidad Economica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Itinerarios (1507-7241) is the property of University of Warsaw and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Scholars systematically mismeasure power resources and military burdens by using gross domestic product (GDP) as a proxy for the income states can devote to arming. The core problem is that GDP confounds two conceptually distinct forms of income into one additive indicator. Subsistence income represents resources needed to provide the "bread" necessary to cover the basic subsistence needs of the population. Surplus income represents the remaining resources that could be allocated to "guns" or "butter." Our new measure of surplus domestic product (SDP) corrects for this measurement error by decomposing subsistence income and surplus income from total GDP. Validation exercises demonstrate that SDP outperforms GDP at measuring the distribution of power resources. Though theoretically we expect states' decisions to arm are influenced by the distribution of power; empirical models using GDP find mixed support for this expectation. Strikingly, using SDP reveals strong support for this proposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of CEDRUS is the property of Mediterranean Civilisations Research Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

30 years after socialism many groups of Evenki reindeer herders failed to survive in the suboreal taiga of East Siberia. By making reference to two case studies from the northern part of the Zabaikal region and southern part of the Republic of Sakha, this article shows how the successful continuation of reindeer herding is based on the ability of charismatic leaders mobilising Evenki communities around reindeer herding and subsistence economies. This success also relies on connection to different agents of power in local administrations, large cities and governments and the use of all of the available opportunities that infrastructure or economic agents can offer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines Neo-Inuit (ca. AD 1250 to present) responses to the decreased temperatures of the Little Ice Age (LIA) climate change episode (ca. AD 1300–1900) in the Foxe Basin region of central Nunavut, Arctic Canada. Cooler temperatures (and increased sea ice) would be expected to have reduced both bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) and Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) habitats, forcing Neo-Inuit to refocus their hunting activities on landfast-ice-dwelling small seals (e.g., Pusa hispida) during winter months. However, an analysis of faunal remains from Foxe Basin's largest-known Neo-Inuit (Thule, historic and modern Inuit) archaeological site, Pingiqqalik (NgHd-1), reveals a long-term subsistence economy based largely on multi-seasonal walrus hunting. Two interrelated factors may explain these results: (1) a system of recurring polynyas provided a degree of ecological stability for local walrus populations, and (2) the development of a distinctive walrus caching regime—a form of which continues among the region's contemporary Inuit—allowed residents to adeptly exploit an ecological niche, thereby ensuring food security. Together, these factors likely insulated northern Foxe Basin Neo-Inuit from the worst effects of the LIA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zooarchaeological research has contributed greatly to our understanding of animal use in the Bronze Age Central Plains in northern China, where remarkable social transformations occurred in the second millennium BCE. However, limited work has been done for the contemporaneous Jing and Wei River valleys, another crucial region in dynastic and imperial history of China that witnessed the political transition from the Shang Dynasty to the Zhou Dynasty (ca. 1050 BCE). In particular, the Zhou subsistence economy leading up to the emergence of the region as a centre of Zhou political authority is still poorly understood. Here, we present a zooarchaeological analysis of Zaoshugounao and Zaolinhetan, two sites associated with the predynastic Zhou, in present‐day central Shaanxi dating to before and around the Shang–Zhou transition. Results show that the Zaoshugounao and Zaolinhetan residents practiced intensive farming and animal husbandry in and around the settlements complemented by extensive caprine management on marginal lands. Along with other lines of archaeological evidence, our zooarchaeological data demonstrate that the economic developments in the Jing River valley in the late second millennium BCE, in terms of the diversified use of animal resources, underpinned the economic foundation behind the Zhou rise and their eventual conquest of the Shang. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report presents the results of an archaeological survey of Bureir, Israel—a village site of the Ottoman and British Mandate periods. Serious archaeological study of the 19th and 20th centuries c.e. in the Levant is still relatively new, and the intent of this survey was to provide archaeological data to use in tandem with the large amount of historical information available for this village. The survey materials yielded information about Bureir's economy and mode of subsistence as it changed through time, giving a detailed picture of a village within both local and regional contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of integrated geoarchaeological and archaeobotanical analyses of desiccated and charred ovicaprid dung pellets from the New Kingdom pharaonic settlement of Amara West (Sudan). These analyses reveal diagnostic phytolithic evidence for considerable variations in plant diet amongst the site's ovicaprid population. These data shed light on aspects of ancient animal husbandry practice, the settlement's subsistence economy and residents' exploitation of natural resources. We also observe that specific phytolith types correlate with the presence (and quantity) or absence of calcium carbonate faecal spherulites in analysed dung pellets. This evidence, augmented by experimental analysis of analogous modern plant material, suggests that dietary Ca intake is implicated in faecal spherulite crystallization within the ovicaprid digestive system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farming economy was first introduced to the coastal areas of Southern France by Impressa groups (ca. 5850–5650 cal BC), originating from Italy, and subsequently spread to the hinterland by Cardial/Epicardial communities (ca. 5400–4500 cal BC). Fruit and seed remains preserved in archaeological sites provide direct evidence of the botanical resources cultivated and collected by these ancient social groups. But the transition from hunter-gathering to agricultural subsistence strategies is still poorly known in the area, due to insufficient and sometimes outdated archaeobotanical studies. Here we present new results and a critical review of all the available archaeobotanical data, in order to characterize food plant resources, cultivation practices and their variations in time and space. The archaeological dataset is composed of 19 sites (20 site/phases) mostly located in the Mediterranean lowlands. Our results demonstrate that farming economy of the Impressa groups was focused on the cultivation of hulled wheats, with only slight differences compared to their South Italian origins. The contribution of naked cereals increased in the Cardial/Epicardial agriculture, in agreement with the situation in other areas of the Western Mediterranean. The subsistence economy of hinterland sites seems to include a wider contribution of wild fruits and more limited contribution of crops. However, the poor evidence of cultivation activities in the hinterland is likely due first to the difficulties to find and excavate the sites and perform large-scale archaeobotanical sampling. It is likely that agriculture played a significant but variable role between sites and territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores certain features of cinema on Moroccan migration, focusing on the case study of risky and unauthorized migrations. The main objective is to determine the most recurrent narrative, aesthetic, contextual and cultural parameters when dealing with this sociological phenomenon in a sample of 17 films about migration included in the Moroccan Cinematographic Centre's catalogue. The methodology, including both quantitative and qualitative, includes in-depth interviews conducted to ten different Moroccan directors. We approach the migration phenomenon in cinema from the theoretical perspective of social controversy. Our findings confirm that context plays an important role in Moroccan cinema, since storylines illustrate the personal circumstances of protagonists. The rationale behind the migration of the protagonists often lie beyond subsistence economy. On the other hand, the patera (Spanish term for fragile migrant boats) drama is not depicted realistically, using metaphors and allusions instead. Scepticism, rather than victimization, and hope, rather than despair, profile the approach of the main themes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about cultural change on the inlets of the northern subcoastal plains of the Alligator Rivers region during the transition period between sea-level highstand c.8,000 BP and the establishment of freshwater wetlands (c.2,000 BP to present). The research presented here begins to fill this gap by illustrating differences in Indigenous land-use at two sites only a few kilometres apart and both dating to c.1,000 years ago. Located on the lower reaches of the South Alligator River within what is now Kakadu National Park, the earth mound Myaranji 1 and the shell midden Djindibi 1 provide a snapshot of settlement and subsistence strategies practiced on the floodplains in the late Holocene. This paper presents the analyses of the cultural materials recovered from these two open sites, including those of invertebrate and vertebrate faunal remains, shell and stone artefacts, and pigment on artefacts. Interpretation of the data suggests that occupation was relatively short-lived. Differential representation of food resources indicates that each site was occupied in different seasons. Both local manufacture and regional connectivity are suggested by ochre use and stone artefact working. Evidence from other regional sites implies a subsequent focus for settlement to the south and east. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the importance assigned to forest extractive resources (FR) for subsistence and income generation by colonist and Caboclos populations in the Brazilian Amazon. Key informants in 114 settlements (82 Caboclos and 32 colonists) in the southwest region of Pará classified on a four-level ordinal scale the importance of fruits, medicinal plants, hunting, fishing, and wood for both subsistence (FRI-s) and income generation (FRI-i). FRI-s was higher than FRI-i, which had a lower importance overall, except for fishing among Caboclos. The differences and similarities found both within and between the social groups refuted this social dichotomy as a major factor mediating the relationship with FR. We discuss possible socioeconomic factors as probable causes to explain the importance values found. The low importance for income generation may reveal the constraints on FR extraction in the Amazon, which can jeopardize the role of forest extractive reserves for economic development in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The well-known phenomenon of tribal disadvantage in India requires constant monitoring to ensure diligent attention to equitable protection of tribal people's right to life. This article, based on an analysis of primary data collected from 400 households in eight different tribal communities in Odisha, charts the differential progress of Odisha tribals by establishing a Tribal Development Index. Such data identify significant development disparities and confirm the existence of a 'creamy layer', constituted of more developed individuals and families also among India's tribals. While many households in these eight communities still lack basic amenities, notable differences regarding food security, landholding, income and overall development were identified, supporting arguments for devising more sophisticated differential forms of intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclones always affect the livelihood patterns of the human being. Although several studies measured only the immense impact of cyclone Aila which hit in the southern part of Bangladesh in 2009, very few studies concentrated on exploring impacts of the cyclone together with its coping strategies. The aim of this study is to explore the impacts and coping strategies of the Aila affected households located in the coastal region of southern Bangladesh. A total of 240 randomly selected households in the study area were surveyed through an interview schedule to gather information. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data. The results show that Aila affected households faced multifarious impacts such as the displacement of dwelling place, the loss of subsistence economy, the fall of income, the disruption of children's study and the disorder of health. In order to mitigate the impacts of the cyclone Aila, various coping strategies of the households were observed in the study area. A significant portion (86%) of the household-dwellers, who experienced the full-damage of house, chose the embankment for building a new house as a coping strategy. While in the families confronted with the financial crisis following Aila, children of the 52 percent of households had to manage their study at home instead of attending school. Three obvious dichotomies such as formal and informal, strategic and nonstrategic, and traditional and scientific are underpinning to explain the nature of coping strategies. The present study recommends recognizing the vulnerable households and promoting coordinated disaster risk reduction programs to mitigate cyclone impacts and providing support for rebuilding post-cyclone livelihoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on development of tertiary education in Colombia is undergoing a crisis of a not only temporary nature, due to the phenomenon of the COVID-19 pandemic. It mentions research to contribute to the development of the country in the face of an accumulation of needs that have not yet been covered even at the minimum level of subsistence. It also mentions strengthening of the doctoral development process and transformations for country in framework of equity and social justice.

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The Roman necropolis in Carrer Quart in Valencia (Spain) is the city's oldest known cemetery, dating from between the second century BC and third century AD. Based on its archaeological and bioanthropological analysis, we examine various hitherto unknown issues from an interdisciplinary perspective. By using isotopic archaeochemistry, various aspects, such as those concerning funerary practices, social stratification, paleodemography, quality of life, and the impact of disease, food, and the subsistence economy, as well as population mobility, have enriched our knowledge of the landscape of the old town. Science and memory converge in Valentia through the culture and traditions documented in the funerary ritual (funus valentiae). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]