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Optimal diet breadth theory as a model to explain variability in Amazonian hunting
Author(s) -
HAMES RAYMOND B.,
VICKERS WILLIAM T.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
american ethnologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.875
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1548-1425
pISSN - 0094-0496
DOI - 10.1525/ae.1982.9.2.02a00090
Subject(s) - amazonian , foraging , optimal foraging theory , amazon rainforest , settlement (finance) , ecology , range (aeronautics) , set (abstract data type) , geography , sociology , anthropology , biology , economics , computer science , materials science , finance , composite material , payment , programming language
Optimal foraging theory is a set of related models from evolutionary ecology that predict the range and proportions of food items a predator should consume (diet breadth), where and how long it should hunt (patch choice), and how it should move (path choice). This paper assesses the utility of such models in anthropology by applying an optimal diet breadth approach to the analysis of hunting yields in three Amazonian societies. Specifically, we analyze diet breadth as a function of settlement age, distance, and technology. Data from the Siona‐Secoya, Ye'kwana, and Yanomamö indicate that these factors have a significant influence on diet breadth and support the basic predictions of the optimization model. [ecological anthropology, foraging strategies, Amazonia, South American Indians, anthropological theory]