Book

The changing pattern of Hopi agriculture

Royal Anthropological Institute (30)Published In 1971 • Pages: [6], 66 , plates

By: Bradfield, Maitland.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This source is concerned with three questions relating to land use in the Oraibi valley: 1) what factors determine the location of Hopi agricultural fields? 2) what were the economic and social effects of the dissection of the wash below the village of Oraibi? and 3) what have been the long term effects on the pattern of land use in the valley of the introduction of draught animals and carts and tractors and pick-up trucks? The author answers the questions through a consideration of the topography, climate, soil, and vegetation of the Oraibi area, the Hopi land use pattern over time, and the causes and date of the dissection of the Oraibi valley. The author concludes that: 1) choice of field sites are determined by the availability of water in the form of surface run-off and the capacity of the subsoil to retain moisture; 2) the dissection of the wash below Oraibi was the immediate cause of the split at Oraibi in 1906; and 3) the introduction of draught animals in the late 19th century resulted in the clearing of new fields at greater distances from the village, the abandonment of marginal land, and the concentration of land holdings, a trend furthered by the introduction of tractors and pick-up trucks; the introduction of draught animals also reduced labor demands in agriculture and thereby opened the way for a great increase in sheep herding.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Agricultural science
Tillage
Cereal agriculture
Land use
Topography and geology
Recording and collecting in the field
Flora
Climate
Soil
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Hopi
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
Southwest and Basin
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
1966-1970
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
ca. 1851-1970
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Oraibi Valley, Third Mesa, northeastern Arizona, United States
NotesAdditional notes
Maitland Bradfield
Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-66)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
72187839
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Hopi Indians