essay

Environmental variations in the South Turkana ecosystem boundaries

turkana herders of the dry savanna : ecology and biobehavioral response of nomads to an uncertain environmentOxford • Published In 1999 • Pages: 316-330

By: Little, Michael A., Dyson-Hudson, Rada, Dyson-Hudson, Neville, Winterbauer, Nancy L..

Abstract
This document discusses the influences that rainfall variation has on Turkana vegetation and water resources, on livestock, and on the behavior and biology of the people. It shows that the Turkana employ sophisticated reactive and opportunistic strategies to deal with the vagaries of unpredictable rainfall pattern. The most important of these include organizing herding into highly mobile and flexible units which allow individual herd owners to move quickly without waiting for decision by a larger unit.
Subjects
Climate
Pastoral activities
Annual cycle
Social relationships and groups
Ethnometeorology
Flora
Domesticated animals
Inter-ethnic relations
Disasters
Diet
Morbidity
Development and maturation
Family relationships
Physiological data
Conception
culture
Turkana
HRAF PubDate
2010
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Eastern Africa
Document Type
essay
Evaluation
Creator Types
Anthropologist
Ecologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Teferi Abate Adem; 2009
Field Date
1980-1996
Coverage Date
1980-1999
Coverage Place
Turkana, Kenya
Notes
Michael A. Little, Rada Dyson-Hudson, Neville Dyson-Hudson, and Nancy Winterbauer
For bibliographical references see document 24: Little and Leslie
LCCN
99219983
LCSH
Turkana (African people)