Aguas De Riego Cs Sociales

Canal Irrigation and Local Social Organization [and Comments and Reply] Author(s): Robert C. Hunt, Eva Hunt, G. Munir Ahmed, John W. Bennett, Richard K. Cleek, P. E. B. Coy, Thomas F. Glick, Russell E. Lewis, Bruce B. MacLachlan, William P. Mitchell, William L. Partridge, Barbara J. Price, Wolf Roder, Axel Steensberg, Robert Wade, Imre Wellmann Source: Current Anthropology, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Sep.,1976), pp. 389-411 Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2741351 . Accessed: 06/06/2011 22:15
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CUJRRENT ANTHROPOLOGY

Research for FoundationAnthropological 1976by The Wenner-Gren

Vol. 17, No. 3, September 1976

Canal Irrigation and Local Social Organization'
C. by Robert HuntandEva Hunt

(e.g., land tenure,trade,producResourcecontrolsystems aboutsocioeconomlargein mostmacrotheories tion)loomvery irrigation been has For a fewscholarsin social anthropology, three There would seem to be, historically, ic organization. 1957 of greattheoretical importance(see especiallyWittfogel plant waysofintensifying foodproducmajor (and cumulative) and Steward1955; cf.Leach 1961, Childe 1954, Wolfand Paand agriculture, indusof tion: domestication plants,irrigated lerm1955,and Sandersand Price 1968). Most anthropologists, trializedfarming. is widely assumed that the yields from It however, have ignoredit, evenwhen it was a major technique it.are withirrigation farhigherthanwithout Irriagriculture it ofcultivation the society in theystudied,or mentioned only richaddiwould thusseemto be an unusually gatedagriculture briefly passing (Beteille 1965). We believe that irrigated tion to man's repertoire exploitinghis environment in and for is thatit almostceragriculture a veryunusualsocial resource, of a consequently resource unusualsocialpower.The intensifirelationships otherfeatures social to of tainlyhas systematic undersomecircumhas cationdue to irrigation been proposed, need to be pursued and that theserelationships organization, includingthe urban stances,to have had enormouseffects, 111nQX7.fi.-tnnfif- XAwnX worth states.It is therefore and revolution theoriginofpristine are what its characteristics and whetherit hasdetermining 1 We wishto acknowledgethesupportreceivedfrom theNational corollaries. any systematic Science Foundation; NSF Grant GS-87, to Eva and Robert Hunt, the concerning of number generalpropositions Of thelimited enabled us to gather data on the San Juan case, and NSF Grant some focuspriand social structure, of relationship irrigation and otherson marilyon the surplusgeneratedby irrigation labor...