From Hunting to Herding: Pigs and the Control of Energy in Montane New Guinea

Hunting and the Classification of Game Animals among the Wopkaimin

“…Brown, P. (1978:100) demonstrates that the variables influencing population distribution and settlement are terrain, technology, land quality, community organization and intercommunity relations. Population increase, agricultural intensification and expansion have been based on successful sweet potato cultivation between 1700m and 2200m, the malaria and frost limits (Brown, P. 1978:204), and the shift from hunting to pig herding (Morren 1977). Brown, P. (1978: 30) concludes that the densely settled, larger and more complex cultural and social forms of Highland peoples developed from a Highland fringe base and points out that it is debatable whether a larger population would be supportable in this [Highland fringe] ecological and subsistence system where high rainfall, poor soils, and difficult terrain greatly limit the arable land (Brown 1978:35).…”

Staple Finance, Ritual Pig Sacrifice, and Ideological Power in Ancient Hawai'i

“…A psychological bond of familiarity is slowly developed between pig and provider as the pigs are fed and given names. Endowing pigs with subjective cultural and personal values enhances the status of those who exchange pigs for consumption, consume them as a feasting food, or offer them during ritual sacrifice (cf Kahn 1986;Morren 1977;Rappaport 1968;Waddell 1972). Among the ancient Inka of the Andes, domesticated animals were preferred as sacrificial offerings because wild animals lacked the esteem that only human care and affinity could provide (Murua 1964(Murua [ca.…”

“…The primary production harvest profile provides a model for analyzing Hawai'ian pig assemblages, although actual exploitation patterns may vary if pigs were retained for other reasons. For example, in Hawai'i as well as other places in Oceania such as New Guinea, pigs served a social importance as surplus commodity and sacrificial food, used as gifts for loyal subordinates during ritual feasting (Handy andHandy 1972:242-253, Kolb 1994b;Morren 1977;Rappaport 1968;Waddell 1972;Valeri 1985:119-120). We would expect, however, that ritual feasting should not alter harvest profiles for primary producers much, since the ultimate goal is still consumption.…”

Mehtods and Problems of Food Consumption Surveys in Papua New Guinea Populations.

“…For pig meat, fat content and the associated energy content vary markedly between wild and domestic animals. Some food composition tables for Western countries have been applied by researchers to pig meat despite the fact that Papua New Guinea pigs, even domestic ones, are markedly leaner (Buchbinder, 1973); perhaps Morren's (1977) report demonstrating that nearly half the total energy intake of the Miyanmin came from domestic and feral pigs was an example of misuse of the existing food composition tables. For sago starch, Ohtsuka et al (1985) pointed out that most food composition tables showed high energy content (up to 362 kcal per 100g) despite the fact that their own analyzed value was only 221 kcal; the difference was in the water content between the samples used for the published tables, which were obtained in the town markets long after production, and their own samples collected in the sago-eating villages.…”