Cassava production and processing in a cross-cultural sample of african societies

Behavior Science Research Vol/Iss. 26 (1-4) Sage Published In Pages: 87-119
By Romanoff, Steven, Carter, Simon, Lynam, John

Hypothesis

Societies in the cassava belt of Africa with landholding kinship groups will rely more on cassava than other societies. Proximity to market towns (or transportation) and population pressure will favor the market economy and are inimical to the continuing existence of such societal characteristics (p.102).

Note

"The amount of cassava per capita is greatest where there is less diversity in food strategies and where kinship groups control land. The amount of cassava in the diet is also greatest where there is less diversity and food-getting strategies. The diversity of food strategies...is strongly related either to market access or to technological level (tool use), which is itself related to market proximity. Existence of kinship groups for land management is strongly related to lower population pressure" (p.102).

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
Correlation (multiple)SupportedMultiple p-valuesUNKNOWNUNKNOWN