Book
Trade and reciprocity among the River Bushmen of northern Botswana
University Microfilms International • Ann Arbor, Michigan • Published In 1988 • Pages:
By: Cashdan, Elizabeth A..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This source attempts to explain differences in exchange and reciprocity in the Botletle and Nata River areas of northern Botswana. The two study areas are inhabited by the same ethnic groups -- River Bushmen and Bantu -- however, one area is characterized by ethnic specialization and trade, while in the other trade is limited and networks of generalized reciprocity predominate. The author attributes the differences to environmental factors. The Botletle River area is diverse, but limited in resources; the author argues that these conditions favor specialized trade as a way of buffering the spatial variability in resources. The Nata River area, on the other hand, is a more homogeneous zone that lacks any limited resources; these conditions, the author argues, do not favor trade specialization and do favor generalized reciprocity as a mechanism for minimizing subsistence risks and buffering temporal variability in resources. The file user should be aware that in the author's discussions of the ethnic groups in the two study areas, it is not always clear to what extent the information presented relates to the River Bushmen.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Theoretical orientation in research and its results
- Linguistic identification
- Topography and geology
- Climate
- Soil
- Production and supply
- Gift giving
- Exchange transactions
- External trade
- Acculturation and culture contact
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- San
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2005
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Gerald Reid ; 1988
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1975-1977
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1850-1977
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Nata and Botletle River areas, northern Botswana
- NotesAdditional notes
- Elizabeth Ann Cashdan
- Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 1979
- UM8012540
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-205)
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- San (African people)