ANTH 1006 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Reindeer Hunting In Greenland, Marvin Harris, Cattle In Religion And Mythology
Document Summary
People must adapt successfully to their physical environments, adjusting to its features and using its resources to meet their needs. Prescribe procedures to use knowledge and artifacts. Skolt lapps of northern finland- diffusion of the snowmobile. Cultural ecology: study of the way people use their culture to adapt to particular environments. Vast network of individuals exchanging nutrients, energy. Humans occupy a remarkable diversity of habitats. Once humans enter an ecosystem, they tend to be the dominant species. India"s cow worship as an adaptive response- marvin harris. System is not flawless, but not irrational. Cattle wander and basically take care of themselves, do not compete with humans for food. Bulls provide traction for plowing, do not rust, reproduce themselves. Dead cow meat goes to the poorest caste. 41% of all land in u. s. is for cattle feed. Cattle return over 17% of what they consume. Winter roundup (2-3 weeks, once a year) Reindeer are scattered and must be found.
