Pages: 319-328

On the basis of Evenk ethno-archaeological data from the Katanga area, the northernmost part of Irkutsk County in Siberia, this paper discusses the economy of the Evenk groups there and whether optimal foraging theory (OFT) constitutes a reasonable approach to their resource strategy and exploitation. One conclusion is that the original focus of OFT on individuals as the basic operative units is inappropriate in this case because Evenk resource strategy and exploitation is organised at group. It is obvious that an understanding exists of the relationship between the carrying capacity of the resources in a clan territory and how much can be extracted. One problem appears to be, however, that the Evenk monitoring and resource management system is so advanced and well-suited for adaptation to dynamic resources that OFT obviously is too primitive in its basic mechanisms to deal with it in a relevant and appropriate way.

Keywords: Eastern Siberia, Evenks, hunters-gatherers, ethno-archaeological data, optimal foraging theory, resource exploitation

Information about author:

Ole Grøn (Copenhagen, Denmark). PhD. University of Kopenhagen, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management. Rolighedsvej 23, 1958, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
E-mail: [email protected]