TY - JOUR KW - Papua New Guinea KW - hunter-gatherer KW - agricultural productivity KW - Melanesia KW - sago palm KW - starches KW - palms KW - pith KW - swine KW - swamps KW - labor productivity AU - Patricia K. Townsend AB - The techniques used by the Sanio-Hiowe of Papua New Guinea to produce edible starch from the sago palm (Metroxylon sp.) are described. Input-output analysis demonstrates that this is a highly productive subsistence technology; nevertheless, the Sanio-Hiowe economy is characterized by an absence of intensification. This is ascribed to functional consequences of dependence on hunting and gathering in the interior. In coastal and riverine habitats, other societies using sago supplemented by fishing or horticulture can more fully exploit the potential of sago as a basis for economic intensification and a more sedentary life. AN - 91-01565 BT - Human Ecology C1 - Human Ecology C6 - 0300-7839 DA - 07/1974 DB - JSTOR IS - 3 LA - English N2 - The techniques used by the Sanio-Hiowe of Papua New Guinea to produce edible starch from the sago palm (Metroxylon sp.) are described. Input-output analysis demonstrates that this is a highly productive subsistence technology; nevertheless, the Sanio-Hiowe economy is characterized by an absence of intensification. This is ascribed to functional consequences of dependence on hunting and gathering in the interior. In coastal and riverine habitats, other societies using sago supplemented by fishing or horticulture can more fully exploit the potential of sago as a basis for economic intensification and a more sedentary life. PY - 1974 RN -

ArticleType: research-article
Full publication date: Jul., 1974
Copyright © 1974 Plenum Publishing Corporation

SP - 217 EP - 236 T2 - Human Ecology TI - Sago production in a New Guinea economy UR - http://www.jstor.org/stable/4602300 VL - 2 ER -