Characteristics:

1. A variety of subsistence crops, but some emphasis upon tuberous plants.'
2. "Slash and burn" methods of clearing the forest before cropping.
3. Low man/land ratios with population typically in small tribal groups.
4. Primitive methods of cultivation using simple hand tools.
5. Periodic migration leaving the clearing to recover by "bush fallowing".
6. Relatively low yields from the cropped area necessitating supplementary gathering from the forest.
7. No distinctive farm structures apart from simple village huts.
8. The relatively unimportant role of animals in the farm economy.