ABSTRACT
Agricultural intensification has been a major theme for cultural-ecological studies within a number of disciplines. Demographic pressure on resources is the starting point for many hypotheses attempting to explain higher inputs of labour to given areas of land, often leading to irrigation systems or other forms of intensive agricultural land use. The relationship between population and the environment as expressed through agricultural change is central to a body of theory articulated most fluently by Boserup, Geertz, and Brookfield. Boserup (1965) saw agricultural intensification as triggered by population increase exerting a strain on existing food production capacity. Using a case study from Java, Geertz (1966) illustrated how only certain agrosystems are capable of absorbing higher inputs of labour and technological skill, given the constraint of a land base that remains constant. And based on research on Pacific Islands, Brookfield (1972) revealed evidence for different purposes of production, with social or ritual needs and trade requirements assuming a substantial share of yields; he concluded that ‘the relation of population density to agricultural intensity in the Pacific is by no means clear’ (Brookfield 1972:36). Pacific agricultural landscapes appear to be a particularly rewarding area for exploring causal links between cultural or ecological systems and regional evolution of social and political structures. I shall argue, however, that Fiji offers the basis for quite a different interpretation.
