Garden and Demographic Surveys of the Was Valley, Southern Highlands of Papua, New Guinea, 1973-1997

<P>Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.</P><br>This research project had the following five interrelated objectives:<ul><li>to further understanding of political and economic arrangements in noncapitalist<br>
contexts (or more narrowly, political and economic anthropology) </li><li> to contribute to comparative political-economic thought by testing Western<br>
philosophical assumptions against acephalous arrangements</li><li>to advance further the investigation of a Highland New Guinea political economy (one of the most thorough inquiries into such a regime yet attempted)</li><li>to make an innovative contribution to ethnographic research methods and analysis using recent developments in information technology and escience </li><li>to explore what an alternative acephalous view of development might comprise and future opportunities to advance this through local participation</li></ul>The ethnographic data produced for the project encompass land use, demography, genealogical and biographical information and other ethnography.<br>
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Further information may be found on the <a href="http://www.wolaland.org/page/" title="Was Valley Anthropological Archive">Was Valley Anthropological Archive</a> web site, and on the <a href="http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/esrcinfocentre/viewawardpage.aspx?awardnumber=RES-063-27-0105" title="From Production to Transaction: Challenging Political-Economic Assumptions">From Production to Transaction: Challenging Political-Economic Assumptions</a> ESRC award web page.<br>
<br><br><B>Main Topics</B>:<BR><br>The gardens dataset contains the following information: garden particulars (locality, age class, social status, kin group, homestead/consumption unit), land tenure details (kin group territory, relation to kin group, clearance sequence, changes between surveys, garden total area (square metres), local assessment of garden size, number), cropping details (times cultivated, garden type, cultivation status, crop occurrence, local assessment of crop variety) and site characteristics (distance (mins), enclosure, aspect (degrees), slope (degrees), slope form, altitude (metres), vegetation). <br>
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The demographic dataset contains the following information: census date, respondent gender, age, census sheet number, homestead/consumption unit, house reference numbers, kin group, relation to territorial kin group, relation to homestead holder, geographical locality name, and second house information (if relevant).