| The proof is in the pudding: feasting and the origins of domestication. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20642144 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Feasting has been proposed as the major context and impetus behind the intensification of production leading to the domestication of plants and animals. This article examines the way feasting contributes to fitness in traditional societies through the reduction of risks involving subsistence, reproduction, and violent confrontations. As other authors have noted, the risk-reduction strategies used by simple foragers differ significantly from risk-reduction strategies used by transegalitarian hunter-gatherers and horticulturalists. These differences are examined in more detail and are related to the emergence of feasting in transegalitarian societies. Surplus-based feasting is proposed as an entirely new element in community dynamics, probably first developed during the Upper Paleolithic in Europe, but becoming much more widespread in the world with the development of Mesolithic technology. Because feasting entails survival and risk-reduction benefits, it creates inherently inflationary food-production forces. These elements first appear among complex hunter-gatherers and logically lead to the intensification of food production, ultimately resulting in the domestication of plants and animals. |
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Authors:
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Brian Hayden |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Historical Article; Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Current anthropology Volume: 50 ISSN: 0011-3204 ISO Abbreviation: Curr. Anthropol. Publication Date: 2009 Oct |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-07-20 Completed Date: 2010-08-13 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0421035 Medline TA: Curr Anthropol Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 597-601 Citation Subset: QIS |
Affiliation:
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Archaeology Department, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada. bhayden@sfu.ca |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Agriculture
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history* Animal Husbandry / history* Animals Anthropology, Cultural Cultural Evolution Feeding Behavior* History, Ancient Humans |
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