Subject: Re: [permaculture] Global Food Supply Near the Breaking Point
Date: Sat, 20 May 2006 00:24:21 -0400
The hunter/gatherer vs. agriculture and/or pastoral culture aspect of
the current discussion is an interesting one. I just read a book
called Changes in the Land by William Cronon, published in the early
80's if I recall correctly. It focuses specifically on the New
England area, and the ecological changes wrought on the landscape by
the arriving colonists (and the attitudes toward property, wealth,
land, etc.), but he also talks a lot about the way the Native
Americans of the region lived on the land prior to the arrival of
Europeans. My understanding of his analysis of Native American
practices puts them somewhere between a hunter/gatherer culture and
an agrarian culture. By all accounts the Native Americans did 'tread
lightly' on the landscape as compared to Europeans, but they did in
fact have profound effects on it too, implementing practices that
maximized 'edges' etc., planting guilds, etc. Anyway, it's a
fascinating read I think for anyone interested in the land and how we
live on it, but in particular for any of us who know or live in the
North East.
Tom
Re: [permaculture] Global Food Supply Near the Breaking Point
, (continued)