The Hoe and the Axe: An Ethnohistory of Shifting Cultivation in Eastern India

This study is the first ever comprehensive attempt in India to tackle the archaeology of shifting cultivation. It takes an ethnohistoric path to examine the changes wrought upon the shifting cultivation system of the Paharias of Santhal parganas to explain its presently observable dynamics. The goal of the study is to extract from this ethnohistory a model for predicting the archaeological material of the Rajmahal hills. A survey strategy was designed based on the intensive study of the Paharia settlements, resource use, and technology, after studying the present settlement patterns.This book will be of interest to archaeologists, anthropologists, historians, agricultural scientists, administrators, and policy planners.