This thesis looks at how the Cree people of Wemindji, James Bay, Québec, understand and live with ecological complexity and dynamism. The focus is on the interplay between variability, change, and continuity in the Canada goose (Branta canadensis) hunt. Looking at Cree goose-hunting in the light of cultural ecology and resilience thinking, the research suggests that Cree hunters are attentive and responsive to ecological fluctuations, fine-tuning local arrangements to local environmental conditions. Ecological variability and unpredictability, such as weather, goose population dynamics and migration patterns, are mediated by local management strategies in which goose hunting areas shift in space and time. However, whereas these strategies are still practiced nowadays, they are (to some extent) overwhelmed by changes occurring at larger scales. Some of these are related to climate change and anthropogenic disturbances; others are related to social-cultural changes that influence resource-use patterns. I discuss how these different drivers interact among themselves and impact the goose-hunt, and how the Wemindji Cree respond to these changes.

In Mozambique, 80 per cent of the people rely on farming for their livelihood. The majority of them are small-scale and subsistence farmers. In spite of high GDP and agricultural growth rates, the majority of Mozambicans in rural areas remain below the poverty line.  Even though many subsistence farmers in Ribáuè District own animals, programmes and policies for development are aimed at commercialization in medium- and large-scale sector animal farming. We found a lack of attention given to family sector animal breeding as a development factor in Ribáuè. Over the course of five weeks, we engaged in an ethnographically inspired, qualitative field study in Ribáuè District, the city of Nampula and the capital Maputo. Our gender and animal advocacy viewpoints allowed us to look at development as a holistic concept and determine effects beyond the immediately visible. Applying the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods approach, we identified a serious threat to the farmers’ livelihoods both in the short- and long-term, which we believe needs to receive much greater attention in policy-making. We found that animal breeding fulfils diverse functions, such as diversification of assets and diet, and generating and increasing resilience. It is crucial as mid-term investment and as a live bank. However, it is hugely insecure in all of these functions due to recurring shocks. Animal health issues are a major limitation for farmers. Therefore, animal breeding has little development scope for subsistence farmers at the moment, and is further diminished by commercialization plans for a minority of farmers, which overlook the complexity of the farming system and may negatively impact regional markets.  Development through intensive animal breeding reflects a dangerous short-term thinking. Sustainability and an important livelihood strategy for many are sacrificed for economic development of a few while exploitative systems are reproduced. / Em Moçambique, oitenta por cento da população depende da agricultura para a sua subsistência; sendo que a maioria desse montante é composto por pequenos agricultores. Apesar de altas no PIB e taxa de crescimento agrícola, a maioria dos moçambicanos em áreas rurais permanece abaixo da linha de pobreza. Mesmo que muitos agricultores de subsistência no Distrito Ribáuè – localizada na cidade de Nampula, capital Maputo – possuam seus próprios animais e façam parte de programas de desenvolvimento, políticas de apoio e suporte à comercialização costumam ser destinadas a setores rurais de médio e grande porte. Durante o desenvolvimento deste trabalho, identificamos falta de assistência à criação familiar de animais para o desenvolvimento da região de Ribáuè. Ao longo de cinco semanas, estivemos envolvidos em um estudo de campo qualitativo – com inspiração etnográfica – nesta região.  Nossa tese, baseada na análise de políticas de questão de gênero e animais nos permitiu um olhar para o desenvolvimento desta população com um conceito holístico, determinando efeitos para além do imediatamente visível. Ao aplicar a “Abordagem Sustentável dos Modos de Vida Rurais”, identificamos uma séria ameaça para a subsistência dos agricultores em curto e longo prazo – o que acreditamos necessitar de maior atenção na formulação de políticas públicas. Descobrimos que a criação de animais cumpre diversas funções sociais, tais como a diversificação de ativos financeiros e dieta, gerando e aumentando no poder de resiliência da população estudada. Para isso se manter, percebemos ser fundamental que a população invista em médio prazo, usando seus animais como recurso financeiro. Porém, recorrentes revezes costumam limitar essa iniciativa. Problemas de saúde em animais, por exemplo, são uma grande limitação para os agricultores. Por isso, criação de animais tem pouco espaço no desenvolvimento de agricultores de subsistência e é ainda mais reduzido por causa dos planos de comercialização de uma minoria de agricultores (por causa da complexidade do sistema de produção e a fragilidade dos mercados regionais). Desenvolvimento através da criação intensiva de animais ainda reflete um pensamento perigoso em curto prazo. Sustentabilidade e importantes estratégias de sobrevivência são sacrificadas para o desenvolvimento de curto prazo de uma minoria, reproduzindo a exploração de sistemas.

This thesis looks at how the Cree people of Wemindji, James Bay, Québec, understand and live with ecological complexity and dynamism. The focus is on the interplay between variability, change, and continuity in the Canada goose (Branta canadensis) hunt. Looking at Cree goose-hunting in the light of cultural ecology and resilience thinking, the research suggests that Cree hunters are attentive and responsive to ecological fluctuations, fine-tuning local arrangements to local environmental conditions. Ecological variability and unpredictability, such as weather, goose population dynamics and migration patterns, are mediated by local management strategies in which goose hunting areas shift in space and time. However, whereas these strategies are still practiced nowadays, they are (to some extent) overwhelmed by changes occurring at larger scales. Some of these are related to climate change and anthropogenic disturbances; others are related to social-cultural changes that influence resource-use patterns. I discuss how these different drivers interact among themselves and impact the goose-hunt, and how the Wemindji Cree respond to these changes.

This dissertation considers faunal recoveries from a selection of archaeological sites located in the Canadian Northeastern Plains that date between AD 1000 and 1600. These faunal assemblages derive from three different archaeological cultures that are thought to reflect different subsistence orientations. The analysis quantifies this variability by assessing the taxonomic abundance and intensity of bone processing evident in the recoveries. At issue is determination whether variability in the faunal assemblage reflects differences in subsistence economy deriving from the diverse origins of these societies. This requires control over other potential contributors to variability. This includes ecological comparability of the site localities, consistency of excavation, sampling and analytic methods, and similarities in site function. Particularly important is determination that the selected sites reflect comparable seasons of site occupation. This latter consideration is important since the established archaeological and ethnological literature suggests that both available resources and the economic orientation of resident populations varied significantly with season. To this end, a major research component focused on the development of more refined means of determining the season of site occupation by measuring the degree of osteological development of recovered foetal bison bones. The creation of linear regression equations based on these measurements will allow applied archaeologists to establish season of site occupation without the need for a large, difficult to obtain foetal bison comparative collection. The analysis suggests the variability in the faunal assemblages occurs independently of site cultural affiliation, and might reflect economic activities conditioned by more finely divided seasonal divisions than is apparent with the conventional four-season model deriving from agrarian European societies. Aboriginal language markers, specifically moon-names, were used to identify significant biophysical and bison reproductive events. By placing the six sites within Aboriginal concepts of seasonality, animal food subsistence choices are better understood. These results have implications for the classification scheme archaeologists have used to define subsistence strategies.

This thesis presents the results of experimental and archaeological investigations of microscopic plant residues on Lapita pottery from the western Pacific Islands. Lapita is a critical phase in the culture history of the Pacific region and has been associated with the development and spread of a subsistence system based on the cultivation of tropical starch crops, particularly those in the taro-yam complex. However, few archaeobotanical remains been recovered from Lapita sites to lend empirical support to this model. This study explores whether microscopic starch granules, calcium oxalate crystals and other plant microremains on Lapita potsherds can provide direct evidence for the preparation and consumption of staple plant foods, as well as important clues to the function and use of pottery in Lapita society, matters which remain the subject of some debate. This research was undertaken in two main phases. The first involved a series of technical studies aimed at developing methods for recovering and identifying starch and raphide residues on archaeological pottery. Changes to starch during cooking and charring under different heat and moisture conditions were examined to understand how granules survive differentially depending on cooking method and food type. Various methods used to extract native starch granules from charred residues were then tested and a procedure based on a weak oxidising treatment was developed for use on the archaeological residues. The reliability of calcium oxalate raphide analysis, which is much less developed than that of starch, was also critically assessed. Issues with previous identifications of raphides in Pacific microfossil assemblages were highlighted. Morphological criteria were presented for identifying aroid raphides more accurately and chemical tests were developed to differentiate them from naturally-occurring calcite crystals, which were abundant in the sites analysed. The second phase of research analysed microscopic residues on Lapita and post-Lapita potsherds from archaeological sites in the Mussau and Anir Islands (PNG), the Reef Islands (Solomon Islands), New Caledonia, and the Samoan Archipelago. Despite the generally small quantities of residue recovered from the archaeological samples, several sherds with possible use-related starch residues were identified. These initial results indicate that ceramic vessels, including both plain and dentate-decorated Lapita wares, were employed in a variety of tasks involving the cooking and/or consumption, and storage or preparation of starch-based foods. It was also found that these were among the activities performed at the ‘special purpose’ stilt house structure at the ECA site, which raises questions about the possible social or ritual status of staple starch resources in Lapita society. One of the most significant findings to emerge from this study was of taro (Colocasia esculenta) starch granules on sherds from the ERA Lapita site (Anir, New Ireland), and granules identified tentatively as taro on sherds from RF-2 (Reef Islands) and Mulifanua (Samoa). A number of unidentified morphotypes were also present on the Lapita and post-Lapita sherds, suggesting that a variety of plants not among the key root crops were also exploited. These may include some of the many fruits and nuts attested in archaeobotanical assemblages from Pacific sites. The ceramic residue data complement starch and phytolith evidence recovered from cultural sediments from RF-2, which demonstrate the presence and probable exploitation of a suite of crop plants typically associated with the Lapita ‘economic package’. In addition to taro, these include at least one cultivated species of Eumusa banana, non-domesticated (seeded) Australimusa bananas, bamboo, and possibly also Canarium, coconut, and sago. These data support models suggesting that Lapita groups were cultivating and transporting subsistence plants, including at least one of the major root crop complexes, and associated knowledge of their production and preparation across the western Pacific from the mid-late Holocene. This study demonstrated that analyses of microscopic starch residues on archaeological ceramics from the Pacific region can yield significant insights into vessel use and plant exploitation. Further methodological refinements should aim to increase starch yields, which will enable stronger associations between residues and vessel uses to be established. Expansion of reference collections is also required so that more precise identifications of the specific plant foods involved can be achieved.

This thesis presents the results of experimental and archaeological investigations of microscopic plant residues on Lapita pottery from the western Pacific Islands. Lapita is a critical phase in the culture history of the Pacific region and has been associated with the development and spread of a subsistence system based on the cultivation of tropical starch crops, particularly those in the taro-yam complex. However, few archaeobotanical remains been recovered from Lapita sites to lend empirical support to this model. This study explores whether microscopic starch granules, calcium oxalate crystals and other plant microremains on Lapita potsherds can provide direct evidence for the preparation and consumption of staple plant foods, as well as important clues to the function and use of pottery in Lapita society, matters which remain the subject of some debate. This research was undertaken in two main phases. The first involved a series of technical studies aimed at developing methods for recovering and identifying starch and raphide residues on archaeological pottery. Changes to starch during cooking and charring under different heat and moisture conditions were examined to understand how granules survive differentially depending on cooking method and food type. Various methods used to extract native starch granules from charred residues were then tested and a procedure based on a weak oxidising treatment was developed for use on the archaeological residues. The reliability of calcium oxalate raphide analysis, which is much less developed than that of starch, was also critically assessed. Issues with previous identifications of raphides in Pacific microfossil assemblages were highlighted. Morphological criteria were presented for identifying aroid raphides more accurately and chemical tests were developed to differentiate them from naturally-occurring calcite crystals, which were abundant in the sites analysed. The second phase of research analysed microscopic residues on Lapita and post-Lapita potsherds from archaeological sites in the Mussau and Anir Islands (PNG), the Reef Islands (Solomon Islands), New Caledonia, and the Samoan Archipelago. Despite the generally small quantities of residue recovered from the archaeological samples, several sherds with possible use-related starch residues were identified. These initial results indicate that ceramic vessels, including both plain and dentate-decorated Lapita wares, were employed in a variety of tasks involving the cooking and/or consumption, and storage or preparation of starch-based foods. It was also found that these were among the activities performed at the ‘special purpose’ stilt house structure at the ECA site, which raises questions about the possible social or ritual status of staple starch resources in Lapita society. One of the most significant findings to emerge from this study was of taro (Colocasia esculenta) starch granules on sherds from the ERA Lapita site (Anir, New Ireland), and granules identified tentatively as taro on sherds from RF-2 (Reef Islands) and Mulifanua (Samoa). A number of unidentified morphotypes were also present on the Lapita and post-Lapita sherds, suggesting that a variety of plants not among the key root crops were also exploited. These may include some of the many fruits and nuts attested in archaeobotanical assemblages from Pacific sites. The ceramic residue data complement starch and phytolith evidence recovered from cultural sediments from RF-2, which demonstrate the presence and probable exploitation of a suite of crop plants typically associated with the Lapita ‘economic package’. In addition to taro, these include at least one cultivated species of Eumusa banana, non-domesticated (seeded) Australimusa bananas, bamboo, and possibly also Canarium, coconut, and sago. These data support models suggesting that Lapita groups were cultivating and transporting subsistence plants, including at least one of the major root crop complexes, and associated knowledge of their production and preparation across the western Pacific from the mid-late Holocene. This study demonstrated that analyses of microscopic starch residues on archaeological ceramics from the Pacific region can yield significant insights into vessel use and plant exploitation. Further methodological refinements should aim to increase starch yields, which will enable stronger associations between residues and vessel uses to be established. Expansion of reference collections is also required so that more precise identifications of the specific plant foods involved can be achieved.

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2000. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 79 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 68-78).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-126). Also available on the Internet.

This dissertation uses a mixed method approach to examine the determinants of internal remittances that are connected to the social networks of urban migrant street vendors. Urban street markets are a point of entry for many migrants moving from rural areas to cities in the Global South. The qualitative portion of the dissertation uses an ethnographic approach including participant observation, interviews and focus groups to examine the social networks of street vendors in a market in the municipality of Madina, Ghana. The quantitative analysis codes data from the ethnography in order to conduct a social network analysis using quadratic assignment procedure and logistic regression quadratic assignment procedure to analyze the relationship between attributes of street vendors and remittance behavior. Findings lead to several policy recommendations for the international community, as well as locally based non-governmental organizations, microfinance organizations, national and local governments providing funding or designing interventions affecting street markets or working with individual street vendors.

A introdução da agricultura tem sido reconhecida como uma das mais importantes mudanças no modo de vida da humanidade. Indicadores osteológicos e dentais são utilizados pela arqueologia para avaliar mudanças no padrão subsistencial associado com alterações na organização social. No entanto, a multiplicidade de meio-ambientes e a grande variabilidade dos processos culturais, tornam a reconstrução de subsistência um assunto complexo. Assim, ainda não é clara a caracterização dos perfis paleopatológicos dentários de populações com estratégias mistas de obtenção de recursos alimentares. Neste trabalho avaliam-se, desde uma perspectiva comparativa, mudanças e continuidades de indicadores paleopatológicos orais (cárie dental, doença periodontal e padrões de desgaste dental) de quatro populações assentadas no litoral dos Andes Centrais. Três das populações pertencem ao Período Formativo (2500-1 a.C), durante o qual se acredita ter ocorrido o início da agricultura e a complexificação social. A quarta população assume o papel de grupo controle, uma vez que pertence ao Período de Desenvolvimentos Regionais Tardios (PDRT,1000-1440 d.C), caracterizado pelo auge do desenvolvimento agrícola e uma organização social hierarquizada. Estes quatro grupos prestam-se bem a testes de hipótese sobre qual o impacto que mudanças alimentares causam na dentição, pois a subsistência do primeiro e do último deles é bem conhecida. Assim, o grupo mais antigo constitui-se de pescadores-horticultores, enquanto o último é formado por agricultores plenos. Os demais grupos apresentam subsistência intermediária. Testam-se seis hipóteses, que, com o aumento do desenvolvimento agrícola acarretariam em: 1) um incremento na freqüência e prevalência de cárie e AMTL; 2) um aumento na velocidade de desenvolvimento das lesões de cárie; 3) uma mudança na localização de cáries (de oclusais para extra-oclusais); 4) um incremento na prevalência e gravidade da doença periodontal; 5) uma diminuição do desgaste dental e 6) a presença de hábitos de mascar coca e consumir chicha no período mais tardio. Como não há diferenças significativas entre as freqüências de lesões cariosas e AMTL entre os grupos, rejeita-se a hipótese 1. Por outro lado, a profundidade da cárie aumenta, assim como se verifica uma mudança de cáries oclusais para extra-oclusais. Entretanto, hipóteses 2 e 3 só podem ser corroboradas levando-se em consideração o desgaste dental. A hipótese 4 foi parcialmente confirmada e finalmente, as hipóteses 5 e 6 foram totalmente confirmadas. Dentre os indicadores estudados, as cáries de dentina e as extra-oclusais são os que refletem de maneira mais confiável a cariogenicidade. Os modelos paleopatológicos inferidos para cada grupo acusam diferenças significativas entre os períodos iniciais (com dietas em trânsito à agricultura) e os dois mais tardios (com dietas predominantemente compostas de vegetais cultivados). Os resultados obtidos são discutidos do ponto de vista biológico e sociocultural, com apoio em dados arqueológicos, etnohistóricos e etnográficos. As diferenças são atribuídas principalmente à mudanças na tecnologia de preparo de alimentos e à introdução de novos produtos e hábitos. / Agriculture has been recognized as one of the most important factors that changed human life style. Osteological and dental markers have been used to evaluate subsistence shifts, paleodiets, technological development and social organization. However, the main problem that persists in reconstructing subsistence in ancient populations is the multiplicity of environments and the great variability of cultural processes. Consequently, the characterization of the dental paleopathological profiles of populations with mixed diet needs further investigation. This thesis aims at comparing the oral pathology among four pre-Columbian groups with different degrees of agricultural and socio-cultural development, but comparable ecological conditions who lived at the coastal desert of Peru. Three of the groups belong to the Formative period (2500-1 BC.), a critical time for understanding the development of agriculture and social complexity, while the fourth group is assigned to the Late Regional Development period (1000-1470 AD), when agriculture had its apogee and society was highly stratified. These groups represent a unique possibility to test hypotheses on the impact of dietary changes on the dentition, since the subsistence pattern of the earliest and latest periods are well known. Accordingly, the first were fisher-horticulturalists, whereas the last one subsisted on a well established irrigation agriculture. The remaining groups presented intermediate paleodietary profiles. Six hypotheses were tested, according to which an increase in agricultural development would lead to: 1) an increment of the frequency and prevalence of carious lesions and antemortem tooth loss (AMTL); 2) an increase in the caries depth; 3) a shift from occlusal to extra-occlusal caries; 4) an increase in the prevalence and severity of periodontal disease; 5) a decrease in dental wear, and, finally 6) the presence of coca chewing and chicha drinking habits in the most recent period. As there are no significant differences between the caries and AMTL frequencies among the groups, hypothesis 1 is rejected. On the other hand, caries depth increases, and there is a shift from occlusal to extra-occlusal caries. Hypotheses 2 and 3, thus, are corroborated, but only if considering dental wear. Finally, hypotheses 4 is partially confirmed, and hypotheses 5 and 6 are completely confirmed. Among the markers studied, dentin and extra-occlusal caries best reflect cariogenicity. The paleopathological profiles inferred for each group show considerable differences between the two initial periods (with incipient agriculture) and the two later periods (with diets based on domesticated plants). The differences seen are attributed mainly to shifts in preparation techniques and the introduction of new, more cariogenic foodstuffs and habits. The results obtained are discussed in the light of biological, sociocultural, archaeological and ethnographic evidences.