Competition for resources : the role of pig and dog in the Polynesian agricultural economy.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The paper discusses the discontinuous distribution of pig and dog in Polynesia. It suggests that in some cases the absence of one or both species may result from economic causes. Since the diet of both pig and dog in Polynesia was based on agricultural foods, their exploitation required a heavy investment of economic resources. As human populations increased, with consequent economic pressure, so would the relative cost of animal husbandry. Whether animal exploitation remained viable was largely related to the availibility of alternative sources of protein, in particular of marine resources.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: