1. the production, distribution and consumption of goods
Economic systems
the production, distribution and consumption of goods

2. Economic Anthropology
Economic System: production, distribution and consumption of goods
studying the economies of nonliterate people is when we begin judging work, property and lives from our perspective
in poorer societies, wants are kept at levels where they can be constantly satisfied (wants are also satisfied in ways that does not harm the environment)
goods and services were produced in the right quantity and on the time it was required
to understand how the schedule of wants or demands of a given society is balanced against the supply of goods and services, one must create a non economic variable (the anthropological variable of culture)
economic processes cannot be interpreted without understanding demands and how they are satisfied

3. Yam Production in the Trobriand Islands
Men in the Trobriand islanders give yam to their sisters and married daughters to show their support for their husband and to enhance his own influence
when the yams are brought into the woman’s house, it symbolizes his power and influence in his community
the yam is used to purchase goods such as arm shells, shell necklaces, earrings, pigs, chicken, wooden bowls, floor mats, lime pots and magic spells
Men symbolize status and power through yam competitions where the men give away yams to invited guests
giving yams to women also makes them indebted to you and the debt could not be paid off through feasts or gifting equipment
The debts would be paid off through the woman’s wealth which included bundles of banana leaves and skirts made from the same material dyed red
These were items that required extensive labour to produce

4. Yam Production in the Trobriand Islands
the yams allowed for women to purchase goods and skirts for a funeral
since deaths are unpredictable, men must always have available yam
people assign meanings to objects making them more valuable than they really
it is difficult to understand the values of such objects from an outsider’s perspective
in world economic system studies, small-scale cultures are connected to a larger economic system such as the market economy and political organization
small-scale economic systems often coexist within larger economic systems
Resources
- raw materials, labour, and technology are the productive resources used to produce goods and services
- rules for using these resources vary in cultures

5. Patterns of Labour
all human cultures have a division of labour based on age and sex
dividing labour by sex increases the efficiency of learning the necessary skills since only half the adults need to learn a particular skill
dividing labour by age provides youths with time to develop the skills

6. Sexual Division of Labour
work is usually divided up by sex
“women’s work” generally refers to labour carried out near home
“men’s work” generally refers to labour that requires physical strength, rapid mobilization of high bursts of energy, frequent travel from ome and high levels of risk and danger
Women in some egalitarian societies still carry out difficult tasks
In Vikings, women served as warriors; looked as better warriors than men.
Sexual division of labor can’t be explained just by male strength or female reproductive biology
Some cultures, such as in the Ju/hoansi, both genders perform ~35% of activities in equal participation; other tasks divided by which gender can do them better
values cooperation over competition
Women and men work together at times

7. Sexual Division of Labour
Sexually segregated cultures rigidly categorize work as “masculine” or “feminine”
Men and women barely engage in joint efforts
Usually found in pastoral nomadic, intensive agriculture and industrial societies
Usually where men’s work keeps them away from home
Boys and girls raised by the women; boys usually “prove” their masculinity
In the third (“dual sex”) configuration, men and women carry out work separately
Relationship is of balance rather than inequalitiy
Each sex manages their own affairs
Neither sex asserts dominance over others
Popular among First Nations peoples (whose economies were based on subsistence farming, as well as West African Kingdoms

8. Age Division of Labor
Dividing labor according to age is typical of human culture
Among Ju/Hoansi, children are not expected to contribute to subsistence until they reach their late teens
“Retirement” comes around age 60
Then, they’re responsible for handling ritual substances considered dangerous
Since they are around for a long time; they are considered wise.
In food foraging cultures, women continue to make significant contributions as they grow older
Women’s foraging ability reduced when they have a baby
Grandmothers have to continue foraging for a longer time

9. Age Division of Labor
In many nonindustrial cultures, children make a contribution in terms of work and responsibility
In Maya communities (southern Mexico and Guatemala, young children look after younger siblings and help with homework as well as housework
Girls make a contribution by age 7, and by age 11 are grinding corn, making tortillas, etc.
Boys are bringing in chickens or playing with a baby; by age 12, they are carrying toasted tortillas (bringing them to men working in the fields and bringing back corn)
Similar situations in Italy; children play a significant role in the economy
- Girls at a young age take responsibilities for housework; freeing the older women to earn money
- By age 14 they are old enough to work in a factory or workshop
Boys have a bit more freedom in terms of adult control; become involved in various street activities.
In North American grain farms, boys are expected to help their fathers as soon as they can

10. Age Division of Labor
Use of child labor has become a matter of increasing concern; corporations are relying on poorer countries to manufacture goods
Estimated 15 million child laborers in South Asia, some as young as 4 years old
Millions of dollars worth of imports coming from those countries
Sometimes the families only/main source of income
Not as easy as just going there and shutting stuff down; have to consider if the children and their families have to resort to begging

11. Cooperation
Cooperative work groups found in many different types of cultures
In Ju/hoansi, women’s work is highly social
About 3 times a week, they go out to gather wild foods; they go in groups
Most basic cooperative unit is the household; unit of both production and consumption; except in industrial societies.
Maya farmers are motivated by a desire to provide welfare of his own family
Each family work as a group for its own good
- Cooperative work may be undertaken outside the household for other reasons, such as part of fulfilling duties to inlaws, or for political officials
- Cooperative work isn’t always voluntary (if someone commands them to/law of the land)

12. Craft Specialization
In nonindustrial societies, each person in the society has knowledge and competence in all aspects of work appropriate of his/her age and gender
Can be a source of additional income
In modern industrial societies, more specialized tasks are performed and no individual can learn them all
Even in non-industrial societies, craft specializing can occur
One person may be skilled at making arrow-heads
Among people who produce their own food, specializing is more apt to occur
In the Trobriand Islands, if a man wanted tone to make axe blades, he had to go to an island where that kind of stone was quarried; clay pots were made by people in a different island
One example of specialization is offered by the Afar people, who are salt miners
Successful mining requires specialized skills in planning and organization, along with the physical strength and will to do work under the conditions present (very hot temperature)

13. Control of land
All cultures have regulations that determine the way land resources are allocated for example
Food foragers
Horticulturalists
Pastoralists
Intensive agriculturalist
Control of land in nonindustrial societies
Controlled by lineage or band
Territories of the Ju/'hoansi are defined in terms of water holes
located within boundaries of land
The size of band territories and bands can adjust to keep in balance with availability of resources
Feudal system of land ownership prevails among some West African farmers
Land belongs to the head chief
Later allocated to subchiefs
Becomes distributed to lineage leaders to provide individual plots for each farmer

14. Technology
Technology - tools and other material equipment, together with the knowledge of how to make and use them
The number, kinds and knowledge of tools constitute its technology
Ex. Food foragers and pastoral nomads are apt to have fewer and simpler tools than the more sedentary farmer
Food foragers make and use a variety of tools and are ingenious in their effectiveness
A person may not refuse loaning a requested tool even if it's suggested for the owner's use only
Among horticulturalists, the axe, machete and digging stick are the primary tools. The rules are as follows:
Maker has first rights to use them
When not used, any family member may ask to use them
Refusal would cause people to treat the owner with scorn for the lack of concern for others
If a relative helps another raise the crop traded for a particular tool, that relative becomes part owner of the implement and may not be traded or given without permission

15. In sedentary farming communities, tools and other productive goods are more complex and costlier to make
Ex. It is easy to replace a knife lost by a relative during palm cultivation but much more difficult to replace an iron plow
Rights to the ownership of complex tools are more rigidly applied
The person funding the purchase of a complex piece of machinery is the sole owner

16. Resource depletion
The economic crisis concerning fisheries threatens the future of people who make their living by fishing
The Grand Banks off Newfoundland and the eastern Newfoundland-Labrador continental shelves, the richest fishing grounds in the world came to a halt following World War II
Declination of cod population by 99 percent
1992, Canadian government placed a moratorium, followed by the closure of commercial fishing around Newfoundland in 1995
Newfoundland's main economic activity impacts the lives of newfoundlanders
Fish plants and companies closed down and sold their boats
Fishers became unemployed and forced to rely on government pension to survive
Newfoundlanders left the region seeking employment, especially younger inhabitants
Others survived through informal occupations
Ex. Gardening, gathering berries, hunting, etc.

17. First Nations peoples living on the West Coast, such as the Kwakwak'wakw relied on salmon for food, trade and ceremonial purposes
Early European immigrants to eastern Canada readily adopted the fishing industry, maintaining the tradition for another 500 years
Marine transhumance gave way to small-boat family operations in the 1800s
Commercial fleets with high-tech equipment collected large fish harvests during the mid-20th century
Marginalized small fishers
As fish stocks dwindled, competition between fishers increased
Aboriginal fishers clashed with nonaboriginal fishers
Foreign fishers also enroached on the fishing grounds off the coast of Newfoundland
Fisheries management and conversation remained sporadic and controversial
Unpredictable collapse and recovery of fish stocks

18. Environmental problems put added pressures on the fish stocks
Fish had become smaller and fewer by the early 1990s
"mother fish" had disappeared and groundfish stocks collapsed
Resulted in the 1995 cod moratorium being put to action, continuing to impact individuals and local communities to this day

19. The End