Household Ecology: Economic Change and Domestic Life Among the Kekchi Maya in Belize (Arizona Studies in Human Ecology) - Hardcover

Wilk, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0816512140 ISBN 13: 9780816512140

Publisher: University of Arizona Press, 1991

Synopsis

Development and economic change are often seen as destructive to the family and to other traditional forms of social organization. Wilk's study of household ecology reveals that the Kekchi Maya of Belize have responded by creating new forms of family organization, working together to face challenges posed by development. Not merely survivors of an ancient splendor, the Kekchi Maya build upon their rich heritage to approach such problems as ethnic strife and rainforest destruction as creative agents. Wilk combines a wealth of detail on agricultural calendars, hunting practices, land tenure, and labor exchanges in a general interpretation of cultural and ecological transformation. He provides a comprehensive analysis of how tropical farmers survive in the difficult rainforest environment, tracing the ingenuity and adaptability of Mayan culture. Fully incorporating the historical context of ecological processes, he documents the importance of household organization in shap

About this title

Review:

"Readers will find an excellent critique of recent theories of economic change in rural societies, well supported by high standards of ethnographic and historical research. . . . [A] first-rate study."—American Scientist

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Arizona Press
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0816512140
• ISBN 13: 9780816512140
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 280