Ethnoecology and planting practices in a swidden agricultural system ( Brazil).

Abstract

Two sets of data on slash-and-burn agriculture in Northeast Brazil are compared. The first constitutes a cognitive paradigm of land types and the rules stating which crops 'like' which lands best. The second shows the actual outcomes, for forty-four agriculturalists, of planting specific crops in specific land types. The cognitive model predicts the direction in which actual planting behaviour deviates from randomness, although many interesting exceptions occur. The need for similar analyses in other cultures and spheres of activity is stressed, and techniques appropriate to the task are discussed. -Author