Life of the Gidra hunter-gatherer-cultivator in the changing tropical forest of Papua New Guinea

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23401015
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 海外学術
• Research Field: Area studies
• Research Institution: Takasaki City University of Economics
• Principal Investigator: KAWABE Toshio 高崎経済大学, 地域政策学部, 教授 (80169763)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): SUDA Kazuhiro 北海学園大学, 人文学部, 教授 (00222068) ; KUCHIKURA Yukio 岐阜大学, 地域科学部, 教授 (10153298) ; YAMAUCHI Taro 北海道大学, 医学部, 准教授 (70345049) ; HAGIHARA Jun 宮城大学, 看護学部, 准教授 (90347203) ; ODANI Shingo 千葉大学, 文学部, 准教授 (90375600)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): NAKAZAWA Minato 神戸大学, 保健学研究科, 教授 (40251227)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 弓矢猟 / パプアニューギニア / 狩猟採集耕作民 / ギデラ / 人類生態学 / 活動調査 / 人口調査 / GPS情報

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The Gidra people are a hunter-gatherer-cultivator tribe living in the low wetland that is located roughly in the center of the island of New Guinea and covers the southern coastal area near the Equator. The Gidra people, also called the Forest People, live in this tropical climate area by hunting game animals and gathering nuts in the tropical forests and the savannas, carrying out slash- and-burn agriculture by making use of the forests, fishing in the winding rivers and the web of tangled creeks, and growing sago palm (Metroxylon sagu) in the wetlands.
Since the human ecological research has been continued from 1980, population data of the Gidra was obtained for deep analysis of the Gidra villagers. New method of investigation was tried on the group hunting with bows and arrows by using GPS meter and accelerometer. We obtained the detailed data of hunting activity for many hunters simultaneously: GPS location, moving direction and speed of each hunter.

Free Research Field

人類生態学