Abstract
Analyses of nearly 3000 hr of hunting for mammals by Etolo people of Papua New Guinea reveal that older hunters were more successful than younger hunters, that increased success was due, in large part, to higher rates of capture for only two of 24 prey species, and that access to a good hunting dog accounted for the increase in rate of capture for one of these two species. A comparison of Gadio Enga and Rofaifo mammal hunting with that of Etolo reveals a marked decline in energy and protein yields with increase of altitude. This is attributed to altitudinal changes in the composition of the available fauna within Papua New Guinea and to reinforcing effects from increased human population density.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Davidson, H. R. (1966).The Production and Marketing of Pigs. Longmans, London.
Diner, P., Moore, K., and Mutaw, R. (1980). Meats, markets, and mechanical materialism: The great protein fiasco in anthropology.Dialectical Anthropology 5: 171–192.
Devendra, C., and Fuller, M. F. (1979).Pig Production in the Tropics. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Dornstreich, M. D. (1973). An ecological study of Gadio Enga (New Guinea) subsistence. Ph. D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University.
Dwyer, P. D. (1974). The price of protein: Five hundred hours of hunting in the New Guinea highlands.Oceania 44: 278–293.
Dwyer, P. D. (1980). Edible-waste ratios for some New Guinea mammals.Science in New Guinea 7(3): 109–116.
Dwyer, P. D. (1981). Wildlife conservation and tradition in the New Guinea highlands. InTraditional Conservation in Papua New Guinea: Implications for Today. Institute of Applied Social and Economic Research, Port Moresby, pp. 173–189.
Dwyer, P. D. (1982). Prey switching: A case study from New Guinea.Journal of Animal Ecology 51: 529–542.
Dwyer, P. D., and Reichelt, R. E. (n.d.). Estimating the weight of some New Guinea mammals (manuscript).
Ellen, R. F. (1975). Non-domesticated resources in Nuaulu ecological relations.Social Science Information 14(5): 127–151.
Food and Agricultural organization (1949).Food Composition Tables for International Use. FAO Nutritional Studies No. 3, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.
Hart, F. L., and Fisher, H. J. (1971).Modern Food Analysis. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Kelly, R. (1977).Etoro Social Structure: A Study in Structural Contradiction. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
Lee, R. B. (1968). What hunters do for a living, or, how to make out on scarce resources. In Lee, R. B., and DeVore, I. (eds.),Man the Hunter, Aldine, Chicago, pp. 30–48.
McArthur, M. (1977). Nutritional research in Melanesia: A second look at the Tsembaga. In Bayliss-Smith, T., and Feacham, R. (eds.),Subsistence and Survival: Rural Ecology in the Pacific. Academic Press, New York, pp. 91–128.
Norgan, N. G., Ferro-Luzzi, A., and Durnin, J. V. G. A. (1974). The energy and nutrient intake and the energy expenditure of 204 New Guinea adults.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 268: 309–348.
Norgan, N. G., Durnin, J. V. G. A., and Ferro-Luzzi, A. (1979). The composition of some New Guinea foods.Papua New Guinea Agricultural Journal 30: 25–39.
Rappaport, R. A. (1968).Pigs for the Ancestors: Ritual in the Ecology of a New Guinea People. Yale University Press, New Haven.
Schieffelin, E. L. (1977).The Sorrow of the Lonely and the Burning of the Dancers. University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia, Queensland.
Smith, E. A. (1979). Human adaptation and energetic efficiency.Human Ecology: An Interdisciplinary Journal 7: 53–74.
Smith, W. W. (1952).Pork Production. MacMillan Co., New York.
Strathern, A., and Strathern, M. (1968). Marsupials and magic: a study of spell symbolism among the Mbowamb.Cambridge Papers in Social Anthropology 5: 179–202.
van Deusen, H. M. (1972). Mammals. In Ryan, P. (ed.),Encyclopaedia of Papua and New Guinea. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, pp. 688–694.
Watt, B. K., and Merrill, A. L. (1950).Composition of Foods-Raw, Processed, Prepared. United States Department of Agriculture Handbook No. 8, Washington.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dwyer, P.D. Etolo hunting performance and energetics. Hum Ecol 11, 145–174 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00891741
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00891741