Describe jhum cultivation.
Jhum cultivation is also called shifting cultivation, and it was practiced on small patches of land, mostly in forests. The tribal cultivators cut the treetops to allow sunlight onto the ground and burnt the vegetation on the land to clear it for cultivation. The ash from the firing was spread in order to fertilise the soil with potash. An axe was used to cut the trees, and a hoe was used to scratch the soil in order to prepare it for cultivation. The seeds were scattered on the ground instead of ploughing the land and sowing the seeds. When the crop was ready and harvested, the tribal groups moved to another field, leaving the land fallow for several years.