50). The same essential idea works with meat, when a member of the camp kills some game of reasonable size then that person distributes meat to the other families of the camp in a certain hierarchical order but still assuring that everyone in the camp will still get to eat some meat (Lee, pg. 50). The limiting environment of the Ju places certain constrictions on their way of life, most clearly on the number of individuals that a camp can satisfactorily sustain. The village ranges in sizes, on average from 10 to 30 people depending on the area and season (Lee, pg. 62).
Foraging is a dominant aspect of the Ju/"hoansi life. Due to the vast array of over 100 plants that they consider edible, there is much stratification among the desirability of vegetation (Lee, pg. 45). This stratification by the Ju ranks plants according to their availability (by season and amount available), the level of difficulty in obtaining it, its taste nutritional value, and possible side effects. Primary observer Richard Lee has classified their plant foods in six categories based on how often each food is eaten as well as its desirability (Lee, pg. 48). The primary food consumed is the mongongo fruit and nut which is so prevalent that it is in its own category. The next ranking is major foods including 13 seasonal species. Minor foods include 19 species which are mainly eaten when the major foods are not available. Thirty species make up the next category of supplementary foods which are also eaten when better food is not available. There are 19 species categorized as rare foods because they are either scarce or had bad taste and side effects. The last category of problematic foods included 23 species never seen eaten but were still said to be edible. All of the plants consumed by the Ju cover a wide variety of vegetation including fruits, berries, nuts, leafy greens, melons, gum, bulbs, and roots and tubers.