Betty Meehan

Hunters by the seashore

Daily observations over a period of a year were carried out on the food-gathering activities of a group of Anbara Aborigines on the north coast of Arnhem Land, Australia. Shellfish were a main component of the diet and were collected from three types of habitat. There were marked seasonal variations in the exploitation of these habitats. Women and girls are the principal gatherers of shells, and they average 8·5 kg of shell per trip; men and boys average 11 kg per trip, but they make fewer trips. Men contribute additional food by fishing with spears. Detailed analyses of the food intake from various sources gave this group of Anbara an average daily intake of European Carbohydrate food of 0·5 kg, gathered vegetables 0·4 kg, and gathered or hunted flesh a net of 0·6 kg per day. This was computed to be equivalent to 2400 kilocalories per head per day. Climatic conditions drastically affect food-gathering sites: the group is capable of assessing the difficulties and modifying its food-gathering strategies accordingly.