No description available.

This thesis focuses on the faunal remains from a sequence of 11 Epipalaeolithic and ten Neolithic sites in the eastern Jordanian steppe, with the aim of investigating the subsistence practices of hunters and herders between 20,000bp and 7,500bp, and their temporal and geographic variability within the study region. The first section outlines the archaeological and palaeoenvironmental background of the southern Levant; reviews subsistence evidence and models for the periods concerned; and describes the study area and sites. The second section concerns methodological approaches. A model of gazelle ethology for prehistoric eastern Jordan is presented, since this taxon is dominant in many of the study assemblages. Eleven modern case studies are used to predict population structure, demography and mobility, drawing on the principles of behavioural ecology. The archaeozoological methodologies used in the thesis are explained. The third section presents the results of the analyses. Taxonomic identification, quantification and faunal diversity are described and discussed for each assemblage, and broad temporal and geographical trends highlighted. Whether the assemblage compositions reflect the environmental changes discussed earlier is considered. It is demonstrated that the size diminution observed in both gazelle and hare between the late Pleistocene and early Holocene is probably attributable to climatic change. The question of selectivity in the taxa killed by prehistoric hunters is investigated. This is approached through ecological modelling and it is concluded that no strong selective biasses are observed. The nature of gazelle hunting is then further explored; the age profiles and sex ratios of the animal culls are compared to the model of gazelle social composition, and seasonal hunting times are proposed. The results suggest that none of the Epipalaeolithic assemblages shows signs of selective culling. Two Neolithic assemblages contain high proportions of juveniles, and interpretations relating to herd management practices, intensive hunting, and the targetting of vulnerable animals are discussed. The treatment of carcasses of the hunted animals is investigated. Body part representation, butchery and processing evidence, and taphonomic factors are considered, in order to present a picture of the activities undertaken at each site. The appearance of domestic caprines in eastern Jordan is considered. An assessment is made of their wild/domestic status, the management of herds and of carcass treatment. The results of the faunal remains analysed are integrated with other forms of archaeological evidence to discuss issues of mobility, contact and exchange, and to consider the changing and varied use of this area in prehistory.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (MScAgric)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

No description available.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / In this mini-thesis I explore the key characteristics of the farming household and the livelihood strategies they employ with particular reference to their farming systems. The study sought to determined the contribution made by agriculture to the total household income, as a means to justify for promoting booth subsistence and smallholder production as a policy direction. I established that rural households who are former labour tenants engage in both on and off farm income generating activities as a response to capital and labour accessibility. A fairly moderate contribution was made from cash cropping; however, I argue that the value could be much higher if considering high proportion of produce is for home consumption. There is a pattern where subsistence production intensifies to smallholder production with accessibility to water, high potential land and markets. I also found cattle herd sizes to be highly variable amongst households and goat production being correlated with a pattern of feminisation in agriculture. I give evidence that calls into doubt common claims of land degradation and instead call for more clearly defined communal range land management research. I then argue that farming systems are driven and adapted to farmer‟s non-static objectives and subsequent opportunistic strategies employed. This mini thesis concludes that with realistic comprehensive support to small scale agriculture there is potential for petty commodity production which will stimulate rural economies.

No description available.

This dissertation develops insights into subsistence related decision-making from the perspective of homeless and street involved young people themselves through 39 in-depth and life story interviews. The interviews provide insight into two important and underexplored questions: how the social organization of street spaces shapes street life and subsistence; and how the self is implicated in subsistence related decision-making. To address these questions the analysis develops a conceptual model based on field theory (Bourdieu 1984; Green 2008; Martin 2003) that conceptualizes “the street” as a collection of interlocking subfields—unique social terrains structured at the intersection of various social forces that position actors relative to one another and that orient actors towards particular approaches to street life. The core concepts of field theory—field, capital, and habitus—provide insight into how the unique social spaces of homelessness distribute resources, stratify actors, and provide discourses that frame practice. The analysis demonstrates the strength of this approach through case studies of three such subfields in Toronto. Further, the analysis extends the field framework, and contributes to research on the role of the self in street life, by examining how narratives influence the navigation of street spaces. Actors use narratives to make sense of their circumstances and to invest lines of action with a sense of personal meaning. This narrative perspective is integrated with a dual process approach to action (Vaisey 2009) that states that action is influenced by internalized dispositions formed through experience and upbringing (habitus), as well as through available cultural resources that underwrite and legitimize courses of practice. I extend this approach by considering how these two processes interact within narratives, and how the resulting interplay shapes how the homeless navigate the social spaces of homelessness.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 295-321). Also available on Internet.