>it
>would be much more constructive to acknowledge that I
>was criticizing their supposed tolerance for having their
>forests regularly burned down
It would probably be even more constructive to comment on what I actually wrote.
The burning goes on in human forests, as part of shifting cultivation. The Umathings are not so foolish as to burn in Aldryami forests. Even if the Vralos elves may be the least fire-averse in Glorantha. (Note: the original Umathela map is more clear on the existence of the non-elf woods than the one that was in Missing Lands.)
There may be other ways to clear, but proper slash & burn is not hard on the forest if you look at it as a system: "slash and burn farmers typically plant or retain dozens of crop species in each field along with useful trees. ... Because slash and burn fields typically incorporate many crop species and retain some tree species, slash and burn fields more closely mimic surrounding secondary and primary ecosystems in terms of both structure and diversity. Indeed, because farmers often incorporate useful trees into fields, slash and burn agriculture may be thought of as a form of agroforestry." <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Slash_and_burn>
>There is in fact a third alternative, which
>I have mentioned to David before, namely horticulture as
>practiced by the Highlanders of Papua New Guinea
_The_ Highlanders? Not the Mae Enga, who practice "long-fallow
swidden cultivation"
<http://www.everyculture.com/Oceania/Mae-Enga-Economy.html>. Or the
Watut, who are swidden gardeners
<http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0199-1221988_ITM>. Or even
the Dani, who "also practice slash and burn horticulture."
<http://www.everyculture.com/Oceania/Dani-Economy.html>.
YGWV. There's a lot of scope for extrapolation from the limited source material.
Rob
>can't see elves burning down part of a forest, its like setting fire
>to your relatives!
While I don't think they do this (except _maybe_ as part of inter-Aldryami warfare, which IIRC hasn't gone on since the Dawn Age), I think you're taking a human viewpoint. Maybe to an elf it's perfectly acceptable, as long as you end up with many more relatives as a result.
-- David Dunham Glorantha/HQ/RQ page: http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha.html
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