Book

The trappers of Patuanak: toward a spatial ecology of modern hunters

National Museums of Canada (67)Published In 1980 • Pages: xv, 258

By: Jarvenpa, Robert.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this work the author develops an analytical framework dealing with the spatial arrangement of human populations as a fundamental form of ecological adaptation to the natural environment. Here the '…geographical mobility of commercial fur trappers and fishermen from the English River Chipewyan community of Patuanak, Saskatchewan is employed as a variable for explaining the organization of economic-subsistence cycles and ongoing processes of settlement system change' (p. iii). The author discusses various forms of social adaptation in the trapping work force which represents a complex system of adjustments from the traditional family-camp organization to that of the newly-evolving all-male trapping partnerships. Although in the overview current trapping activities still reflect the traditional use of the ecosystem highly valued in Chipewyan culture, the spatial organization of production represented in such activities are not in total conformity with Western ideas of economic 'rationality'. With this in mind Jarvenpa attempts '…to assess the longer-run adaptiveness of trapping culture in view of imminent industrial development: (p. iii). In addition to the detailed data on trapping and the trapping economy, there is also much useful information in this source on geography, flora, fauna, climate, the annual cycle of events, family income, and the diet.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Climate
Topography and geology
Fauna
Flora
Annual cycle
Hunting and trapping
Fishing
Marine industries
Diet
Production and supply
Income and demand
Travel
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Chipewyans
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2000
RegionThe area the document pertains to
North America
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Arctic and Subarctic
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
John Beierle ; 1990-1991
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1971-1979
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1715 - ca. 1960
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Patuanak, Saskatchewan , Canada
NotesAdditional notes
[by] Robert Jarvenpa
Includes bibliographical references (p. 184-195)
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Chipewyan Indians