Provider: Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic

TY  - JOUR
JO  - Anthropologie (Brno)
TI  - Arnhem Land Aborigines and Mbuti: Observations upon Hunter-Gatherer Foraging Efficiency
AU  - Blumenberg B
Y1  - 1986
VL  - 24
IS  - 1
PB  - Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic
SN  - 0323-1119
SP  - 39
EP  - 47
KW  - Arnhem Land
KW  - Cognition
KW  - Ecological anthropology
KW  - Foraging motivation
KW  - Foraging success
KW  - Foraging variance
KW  - Mbuti
KW  - optimal foraging
N2  - 
N2  - Ethnographic information from essentially unacculturated groups of Arnhem Land Aborigines and Mbuti has been perused for possible insights into foraging efficiency and optimality. A wide variance in foraging success characterizes each group. Large yields are produced by Fish Greek kangaroo hunts and Mbuti net hunting. Large differences in foraging success between Mbuti bands cannot be explained. The poor returns that characterize Fish Creek plant collecting raise several, mutually compatible hypotheses for the persistence of such activity. Acquisition of essential nutrients may be important and such aspects of feeding behavior may be under the partial mediation of a multifactorial genetic program. However, if low efficiency foraging behavior is set within an overall context of group caloric efficiency, cognitive rewards that focus upon social experiences (often ritualistic) may be an important priority that also mediates the continuance of such activity.
ER  -