Human Ecology in Savanna Environments

Abstract

Like most terms for vegetation types, has a variety of definitions, but David R. Harris, the editor of this series of papers, presents a new (at least to this reviewer) perspective. He includes all tropical areas with 2.5-7.5 dry months, which he believes embraces everything between tropical rain forest and desert. According to him, this savanna or Intermediate Tropical Zone has a continuous herbaceous layer dominated by bunch grasses throughout. And indeed, his diagram of evergreen seasonal forest indicates such a ground layer, although this is certainly not true of undisturbed seasonal forest, deciduous or evergreen, in MesoAmerica or northern South America. This terminologic ineptness aside, Harris points out that there is good reason for treating the indicated ecosystem catena as a unit, at least in historic human ecology, for early man seems to have avoided both desert and rain forest. Furthermore, archeologic sites cannot be equated with definite vegetation types with precision, and indeed the environment at any one site has undoubtedly shifted back and forth repeatedly. The book is divided into three Parts. Part I contains nine contributions concerning the development of human cultures in various parts of the dry tropics. Separate authors deal with Latin America, Africa, Australia, India, Indonesia, and Melanesia. In view of the broad definition of savanna, which includes approximately a quarter of the earth's land surface, and the many-faceted nature of human ecology, the ecosystems that have been studied are as varied as the perspectives of the different workers. For example, J. Desmond Clark shows how prehistoric climatic oscillations and the natural resources available have shaped modern land use in arid Africa. Philip Burnham's paper on East Africa emphasizes modern social organization and problems rather than prehistory, and Georges Condominas describes the pre-war ritualridden life style of aborigines practicing swidden agriculture in the dipterocarp forests of Vietnam. In this part Jacques Barrau points out that in Melanesia land use changes initiated by Europeans have proven less energyefficient than the primitive type, so he recommends a reevaluation of primitive life styles there. In contrast, James Parsons finds that modern technology promises to reverse the economic deterioration of arid Venezuela and Colombia that set in as cattle ranching developed. Part II starts out with four articles on the basic ecology of native plant and animal life. P.A. Jewell calculates that in arid Africa each family that depends on cattle for existence requires a minimal herd of about 44 cattle and 100 goats, with about 100 ha of range land at its disposal. If giraffe management were integrated with the cattle, production would be materially increased, for giraffe can yield 125 kg meat/km2/yr without offering any competition to the cattle. Part III is devoted to the human biology of tropical dry lands. The physiologic work capacity of African men proves to be lower than that of European men in consequence of the larger muscles of the better nourished Europeans. Toward the end of the dry season food usually becomes scarce, yet field work must continue, and in consequence the energy intake falls below needs at times. In Africa the abundant large game has been a major food source throughout man's evolution, leading to his ultimate heavy dependence on domestic livestock. By contrast, the paucity of large game in the arid parts of the American tropics resulted in developing a dependence on crop plants for food. Erica Wheeler states that protein requirements for good nutrition have been overstated, with fat requirements under-estimated. Dietary variety usually decreases as the hunter-gatherer life style gives way to that of a farmer, then may decline further with change from subsistence to cash-crop farming. Physiologic research has shown that heat acclimatization rises to a very high state only where high pay provides a strong work incentive. Aridity forces people to live near water supplies in the arid regions, and the major infectious diseases of the tropics are water-associated. In contrast with the effects of malarial and hookworm infections, schistosomiasis does not decrease the work output of Africans. Although the content of the individual contributions is substantial, the interests of the workers and the diversity of the cultures studied are so varied that one can expect very little continuity in the book as a whole. Rather, one is impressed by the complexity of human ecology in the dry tropics, as well as the ineptness of the developmental attempts thus far. The volume has a general index, with a separate index of place-names. Each contribution includes a list of references. Illustrations other than maps are minimal, as is tabular material.

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