Solvita Kokina sk08190

Economic Anthropology
Second film review
07.11.2010

Patterns of subsistence: The food producers.

This paper will provide insight into film analysis. The structure of this paper is as follows:
Firstly brief synopsis of the film; Secondly specific discussion of how the film “Patterns of
subsistence: The food producers .” is related to the our class discussion who are horticulturalists
and hunters and gatherers, what is meant by their nature, how it developed from ancient time till
now days, what was the way from horticulturalists till labour- intensive agriculturalists, how
cities were born ; at the end sum up main ideas and the author’s attitude of the film and theory.

The film “Patterns of subsistence: The food producers” is documentary film with
ethnographic elements. The main discussion is about food producing cultures, how they
developed, from what they are dependent, advantages and disadvantages, how God is related to
harvest. In film we can note how different can be horticultural strain. Social distinctions replace
the egalitarianism of foraging societies. And cultures exhibit the beginnings of social
stratification, differential access to wealth and prestige of what follows the birth of modern
civilization stems.

During the film we can see differences between horticulture and agriculture. As horticultures we
can see May from Mexico1 and islanders from Pentecost Island in Malaynesia, but as
agriculturalists - Khmer, ancestors to the present day inhabitants of Cambodia. Horticulture
primarily differs from agriculture in two ways, Firstly it generally encompasses a smaller scale
of cultivation, using small plots of mixed crops rather than large fields of single crops. Secondly
horticultural cultivations generally include a wide variety of crops, even including fruit trees with
ground crops. Agricultural cultivations however as a rule focus on one primary crop. In pre-
contact North America the semi-sedentary horticultural communities of the Eastern Woodlands
(growing maize, squash and sunflower) contrasted markedly with the mobile hunter-
gatherer communities of the Plains people. In Central America, Maya horticulture involved
augmentation of the forest with useful trees such as papaya, avocado, cacao, ceiba and sapodilla.
In the cornfields, multiple crops were grown such as beans (using cornstalks as supports),

1
http://chestofbooks.com/gardening-horticulture/fruit/Tropical-And-Subtropical-Fruits/The-White-Sapote-Fig-60-
Casimiroa-Edulis-La-Llave.html
 Solvita Kokina sk08190
Economic Anthropology
Second film review
07.11.2010

squash, pumpkins and chili peppers, in some cultures tended mainly or exclusively by women23 .
In nowadays Horticulture, as practiced by the Melanesians and the Maya is still successfully
carried out in many parts of the world. It's a form of food production, especially well adapted to
tropical forest soils which need the cycle of regrowth to remain arable. And to mountainous
regions where tractors and other heavy machines are impractical. The same way agriculture is
also common in nowadays like the Balinese, most people in the world today live in complex
societies based on intensive agriculture.

In film it is also shown "mechanized agriculture4," and the impact this has had and is having
today on the land and the water and the environment, and the situation it puts us in as city
dwellers who depend on the food being produced by our agricultural industrial economy. To sum
up all of this is undoubtedly a great benefit, development of modern society and existence will
be impossible without ancient activities. Each of our cultures is intimately related to the ways we
chose to use our world's natural resources. Modern society would not have been possible without
that first act of placing seeds and plants into the ground.

In the end of the summary author would like to pay attention on very special thing mentioned
in the movie – “land diving”. It was a shocking moment. Land-diving on Vanuatu's remote
Pentecost Island was once an ancient, unique and private ritual where young men hurled
themselves off treetops bungee-style to celebrate the annual yam harvest.5 Today, though,
naghol the same as land diving is also a way for young men to step into manhood. 6 Author
must say that it is impressive and surprising, because the slightest miscalculation could mean
the difference between life and death. It is really worth it?

2
Thompson, S.I. (1977) Women, Horticulture, and Society in Tropical America. American Anthropologist, N.S., 79: 908-910
3
http://www.urbanscout.org/horticulture-vs-agriculture/
4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanised_agriculture
5
http://tvnz.co.nz/travel-news/land-diving-ancient-ritual-modern-festival-2700714

6
http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/land-diving.htm/printable