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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



budget, and 33 percent of the food budget. Per 

 capita consumption of beans is moderately high, 

 and of meat and fish, very high. Including 

 children, about 11 kilos of these last-named 

 foods are consumed per person each year. Par- 

 ticularly striking is the great expenditure on 

 fruits and sweets. This is a larger absolute 

 figure than is spent on all food by many other 

 families. Peanuts are consumed in tremendous 

 quantities; Eleuterio never returns from a trip 

 without several kilos, nor does Aurelia go to 

 Patzcuaro without making a purchase. Except 

 for these items, the meal patterns of the family 

 are very simple. The obvious question which 

 presents itself is whether the family can work 

 so hard because it has such a high percentage 

 of energy-building foods, or whether these foods 

 are required because of the hard work. This 

 income is about the highest possible for a fam- 

 ily which devotes itself exclusively to common 

 pottery, as contrasted to ornamental ware, such 

 as tinaja and loza blanca, and which has no sig- 

 nificant income from other sources. It is ad- 

 equate from the standpoint of diet, housing, and 

 clothing, but allows for few frills. 



Alejandro Urbano budget {March 1 to April 

 19, 1946). — This family has no income in kind 

 beyond a little fruit from trees in the patio. 

 There is an apparent discrepancy in the amount 

 spent on flour and the value of bread sold. Part 

 of the discrepancy is due to the fact that the 

 family itself eats a great deal of bread, with a 

 resultant lowering in maize consumption, and 

 part is due, doubtless, to sales not entered. The 

 day labor is work on the highway by Irineo. 

 Income from this source is greater than it might 

 be during the rest of the year, since it is season- 

 al. The average daily food expenditure per mem- 

 ber of the family is only S0.30, to which must 

 be added bread and some fruit. Barter accounts 

 for only $4.75, pots for maize. Significant 

 purchases appear to be missing. The bean diet, 

 for example (table 33), suggests that most of 

 these purchases were omitted. Thus, in practice 

 a good deal more must be spent each day on food 

 for the family. 



Yearly income is estimated at $1,250, of 

 which $1,200 is cash (or barter), an average 

 of $250 per person. Since Alejandro does rel- 

 atively little work, most of this is earned by 

 Margarita and Irineo. Maize consumed averages 

 150 liters per capita a year, the lowest figure 



