Foraging in the Tropics. Is it Possible?
(from Bailey, R. and T. Headland [1992]. “The tropical rain forest: is
it a productive envrionment for human foragers?” Human Ecology 19(2):
261-285. This special issue of Human Ecology has contributions
from experts in reaction to this target article)
According to Headland and Bailey foraging in the tropics is impossible
or difficult because:
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Biomass is mainly trunks and roots with only 2% leaves and even less edible
biomass in terms of fruits and nuts.
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Distribution of useful resources is both patchy and dispersed
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Resources are high in trees and costly to acquire
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Processing costs may be high because of woody coverings and high levels
of toxins
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Most animals are lean, therefore provide poor caloric resources which may
stress the body (Speth and Spielman's "Seasonality, resource stress, and
food sharing in so-called "egalitarian" foraging societies." Journal
of Anthropological Archaeology. 9:148-188 ) with high levels of nitrogen
and costly digestion (specific dynamic action)
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Seasonality is sufficient to cause problems in availability of plant resources
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high species diversity leads to lack of a staple