Group+J

Avoliondionia

A large river divides your territory down its length. It floods at the end of the cool season. There is some rain along the west coast, but rainfall diminishes as one goes inland until there is dry savanna to the east of the river. The ocean drops off sharply along the coast. The land is relatively flat and grassy. It is hot and dry to the east with temperatures reaching 35C. The interior generally stays around 25C, and the coastal region ranges in temperature from 30C in the south to 25C in the north.

Name your homeland. Avoliondionia Name your people(s). Avoliondionians Name the prominent geographic features of your homeland. Mountains shaped like lions and a river the shape of an avacado seed cut in half. (The shape of a lion) Populate your homeland. 2500 What biota exist in your homeland? What natural resources are available? What natural resources are needed? 

**SUBSISTENCE** 1. What pattern(s) of subsistence will your culture follow?

foraging pastoralism horticulture agriculture

2. What resources does your territory have to support your subsistence pattern(s)?

3. How do the climate and seasons in your territory affect your subsistence pattern(s)?

4. How will your subsistence pattern(s) relate to your population size and location?

5. How will the labour involved in subsistence be distributed among your people?

6. What technology do your people use for subsistence purposes?

7. What impact does your subsistence have on the environment?

8. How do your people clothe themselves?

9. What type of shelter(s) do your people live in?

10. Do your people have material goods? What kinds? Where do they come from?

11. What is your people’s diet? How do they prepare food? What is a typical meal?

12. Are there any celebrations centred on subsistence issues e.g. a harvest celebration? Are there special ceremonial or ritual foods?

Note: depending on your choice of subsistence pattern(s), you may have to do some reseearch to fully answer these questions. For example, if you chose ‘horticulture,’ you should know something about how to grow food and/or raise animals. If you chose ‘foraging,’ you should know something about wild foods. And so on.

2. What are the roles of the members of the family in the subsistence system you've chosen?
 * Is it a nuclear family
 * Is it an extended family? Who does it include?
 * Are there households of non-kin? Who can co-habit this way?

3. Is your descent system unilineal?


 * If so, will it be patrilineal or matrilineal?
 * If it is patrilineal, is it also patriarchal?
 * If it is not unilineal, what kind of cognatic system is it?


 * If so, how many lineages are there? How many families in each lineage?
 * If so, what are the corporate powers of the lineage?
 * If so, is each lineage associated with a particular skill, occupation, or trait?


 * If so, what lineages belong to what clans?
 * If so, who is the apical ancestor mythological or just forgotten?
 * If so, do your clans have distinct totems? What do they symbolize?
 * If so, do your clans have chiefs?


 * If so, what are the two moieties called?
 * If so, how does an individual inherit his/her moiety?


 * What specific group is one expected to find a spouse from?


 * If so, does it include both polygyny and polyandry or just one?


 * by the individuals themselves?
 * by the individuals' parents?
 * by supernatural means or by a match-maker?

13. Where do the married couple reside after they are married?

Economic System

1. Taking your subsistence into account, what resources are needed and how will they be allocated in your culture? e.g. land tenure, access to raw materials 2. What labour is involved in your subsistence? Who does what? 3. Are people compensated for their labour? If so, how? 4. What goods are produced in your culture? Is it through households or occupations? Small-scale handicrafts or large-scale industrialized products? 5. What rituals or ceremonies are the basis for generalized reciprocity? balanced reciprocity? What gift giving is involved? 6. Is there trade within your culture? With another culture? What is the basis of the transaction? (i.e. barter? money? some other medium of exchange?) 7. Is there any form of redistribution of goods and services? 8. If you decide on a market-based economy, describe the allocation of labour, the means of production, the products, who are the consumers, etc. 9. Does your group trade with another group? What is traded? How is trade incorporated into the economic system? 10. Is the distribution of wealth equitable in your culture or are there differences in social status, wealth, and prestige? How is wealth achieved? maintained? displayed?