Abstract
It is argued that the Shipibo Indians follow a meat-procurement strategy that (1) takes into account seasonally variable exploitation costs of fishing and hunting, and (2) helps them satisfy their nutritional requirements for meat in a way which minimizes the amount of time they must allocate to meat procurement. To test this idea, linear programming theory is linked with Bergman's ethnographic description of the Shipibo system in order to construct a mathematical model of the Shipibo meat-procurement strategy. Statistical procedures and Bergman's data are used to estimate parameters in the model and the predictions of the model are then compared to observed values. This paper concludes by proposing a conceptual approach to human adaptation which distinguishes cognition from behavior, but interconnects the two in indigenous decision-making.
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Behrens, C.A. Time allocation and meat procurement among the Shipibo Indians of eastern Peru. Hum Ecol 9, 189–220 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00889133
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00889133