Making a Living

Abstract

− Subsistence − "How people get their groceries" − fundamental to understanding everything else about a c lture − subsistence is inextricably linked to everything el se (remember "culture is integrated") − as a result, anthropologists can rarely, if ever, d iscuss subsistence without bringing in other aspects of culture − such as gender roles and relations − marriage rules − ideals and practices about status and wealth − systems of trade or other kinds of exchange, etc. − the three readings all illustrate this − Anthropologists describe subsistence strategies for various reasons − as context or background to explain how a particula r group lives, as part of an ethnography, so that other aspects of the culture w ill make sense − as in the reading by Lee 1984 (The Dobe !Kung) for today, and Pospisil (on the Kapauku Papuans of Papua New Guinea), Chapter 4 of Fratkin (on the Ariaal of Kenya) for next time − to explain the logic behind general types of subsis tence systems and what factors affect them − as in Lee 1994 (Scarce Resources) for today, or the in roductory section of the reading by Fratkin (Ariaal) for next time − to evaluate theories or generalizations about cultu res, cultural evolution, and so on − as in Lee 1994 (Scarce Resources)