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Ecology of a Limited Social Space. The Mnong Gar of Vietnam and their Environment. The author describes the relation of Proto-Indochinese swidden cultivators in Vietnam with their environment. He deals first with the main characteristics of non-biotic and biotic environment, tools and technologies, organization of manpower and ritual aspects of production. Then he points out more general statements about swidden's place in the agricultural ecology of Southeast asian savanna regions. He ends with conclusions about the economical and symbolic functions of rice, staple food «par excellence» in Southeast Asia.

Industry in Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1978) In Democratic Kampuchea, industry is essentially linked to agriculture. Besides the existing factories, most of which are in working order again, the Khmers Rouges created many new ones. The other outstanding features of this industry have been on the one hand the setting up of metal works and development of ship-yards, an on the other hand the bad quality of finished products due to a priority given to politics over technicity.

Changing Agricultural Politics in Some Asian Socialist Countries Between 1978 and 1982 (China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos) As well in China and Vietnam as in Cambodia and Laos, agricultural politics were, since 1975, influenced by the maoist views. The the maoist model became controversial in 1979, in the same way, at the very time when the conflict between China and Vietnam could have made the evolution differ. A family farms system has been reintroduced inside socialist economies by the way of contractual structures. In this paper, the author deals with the meaning of these transformations and wonders if they actually mean that decollectivization is on way and if they they express a tactical withdrawal or a strategic change. Whatever the correct answer should be, one is viewing a transformation in the very scale and nature of the socialization process, a transformation that will affect not only the management of economic affairs but also the control of the social system.

An Introduction to Taiwanese Society and History. A Critical Review of Recent Anthropological Studies Taiwan remains rather unknown in France. However, it is with Hong Kong the only part of China where fieldworks could be carried on since 1949. The book edited by E. M. Ahern and H. Gates sums up more than twenty years of research work. The analysis of these contributions gives the occasion to present the main features of Taiwanese society and to question the validity of some approaches.

This paper examines the impact of colonial rule on a region of India that was very partially integrated into external trade markets. In particular, it suggests that while, as in other parts of India, imports of manufactured goods from the metropolitan country undermined local, artisanal and proto-industrial production, in the agricultural sector considerable growth in output occurred. In addition, as a result of state land revenue policy and the structure of local product markets, the proportion of output marketed also rose. This process of commercialization was accelerated by investment in social overhead capital, particularly in railways. However, with a high degree of skewedness in land holding and asset endowments, in a context of substantial agricultural population growth, commercialization led to a very uneven distribution of rewards. The longer term consequence was that the North Indian regional economy achieved major growth in output but without establishing the preconditions for a more sustained process of development.

Land and Community in a Parish of the Marche : an Essay on Regressive History. Starting from the cadastre («état de section») of 1834, the author has tried to reconstitute the amount of real estate properties in Lourdoueix-Saint-Michel (canton d'Aigurande, Indre), a commune of the Marche region. Two distinct categories appear, one of domaines belonging to the rural bourgeoisie, the other of peasant holdings, both uniform in their structure and mediocre in their yields. From these clearly established data, the author draws an easy conclusion : there is an obvious filiation between the domaines and land units of seigneurial origin. Studying common lands, he finds a real similarity between them and the domaine lands. As for peasant holdings, they do not seem to have changed, neither in their structure nor in their size, for centuries long. One of the hypotheses was that, in most cases, the size of the parcelles (plots) is in proportion with the size of the holdings : the author was able to prove the fact, which helped implementing his conclusions.

Military Conscription in Lozère in the Beginning of the 19th Century In the beginning of the 19th century in Northern Lozère, military conscription was refused in many different ways : and it was this refusal which revealed the position of each household and each individual relative to the rest of society. Leaving to a few, notably the landowners, the means of avoiding military service by buying a replacement, a recrute from amongst the poor who sees in his departure a way of earning some money ; conscription was far from egalitarian. Others sought exemption or dispensation using variety of ploys ; from the fabrication of false papers to voluntary self-mutilation. However, when all these attempts have failed, there remains the most dangerous and least prestigious way of expressing one's refusal : defiance. In this case runagates and deserters were hunted down by the police whilst their families had to bear the full weight of keeping the garrison in board and lodging.

Is Ancient Town a «Consumer Town» ? Social Parasitism and Ancient Economy. An Answer by Ch. Goudineau In this paper dealing with the relationship between town and country in the ancient world, the author considers that the concept of «consumer town», though historiographically useful, does not rightfully account for the organizational role of the urban aristocracies in agricultural production and trade. In fact, the relationship town maintained with country was an active one. In his answer, Christian Goudineau defends a correct use of this concept.