Abstract
The proposition that tropical forest swidden gardens mimic the extraordinary species diversity of the forest by the use of extensive intercropping is examined in the light of the field architecture of the Barí, a people of the Maracaibo basin. Barí fields manifest annular zonation rather than intercropping. It is concluded that Barí horticulture is an inversion of the jungle rather than an imitation of it.
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This article is based on a paper given at a symposium entitled “Does the Swidden Ape the Jungle?” held at the December 1980 Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association in Washington, D.C.
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Beckerman, S. Barí Swidden gardens: Crop Segregation patterns. Hum Ecol 11, 85–101 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00891232
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00891232