What was the purpose of Ellen’s research? What main conclusions were drawn? Is this an interdisciplinary study? Explain your answer. Why is the number of structural components of the extraction...

Processing Metroxylon sagu Rottboell (Arecaceae) as a Technological Complex: A Case Study from South Central Seram, Indonesia Author(s): Roy Ellen Source: Economic Botany, Vol. 58, No. 4 (Winter, 2004), pp. 601-625 Published by: Springer on behalf of New York Botanical Garden Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4256874 . Accessed: 11/10/2013 22:01 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . New York Botanical Garden Press and Springer are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Economic Botany. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 192.146.156.172 on Fri, 11 Oct 2013 22:01:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsPROCESSING METROXYLON SAGU ROTTBOELL (ARECACEAE) AS A TECHNOLOGICAL COMPLEX: A CASE STUDY FROM SOUTH CENTRAL SERAM, INDONESIA1 RoY ELLEN Ellen, Roy (Ethnobiology Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of Kent at Can- terbury, CT2 7NS, UK). PROCESSING METROXYLON SAGU ROTrBOELL (ARECACEAE) AS A TECHNO- LOGICAL COMPLEX: A CASE STUDY FROM SOUTH CENTRAL SERAM, INDONESIA. Economic Botany 58(4):601-625, 2004. Presented here is an examination of the technological process whereby the stem pith of Metroxylon sagu Rottboell is transformed into edible starch by the Nuaulu people of south central Seram, Maluku, Indonesia. The analysis seeks to describe the underlying local knowledge and practices involved, with a view to refuting the assertion that sago extrac- tion is an intuitively and technically simple solution to food...