AND

Gary J. Martin The Global Diversity Foundation, Morocco

I. Historical Development of Ethnobiology ogy because both fields have witnessed a similar II. Current Trends in Ethnobiology development in theory and methodology in recent III. The New Synthesis years. , anthropogenic and natural Communities of organisms and their environment formed either through human action or through natural processes. In practice, it is difficult to establish the extent to GLOSSARY which an is anthropogenic or natural, re- flecting the current and historical impact of people analysis, Concepts derived from the lin- on the environment. guistic terms ‘‘phonetics’’ (representing speech ethnobiology A term coined in 1935 that has been sounds by precise and unique symbols and by techni- defined as the study of the reciprocal interactions cal descriptions of articulation, as practiced by between people and the biological organisms in their trained linguists) and ‘‘phonemics’’ (characterization local environment and, recently, as the study of bio- of speech through a minimal number of symbols, logical sciences as practiced in the present and the typically recognized by the speakers of a language). past by local people throughout the world. Many By extension, etic refers to the external explanation researchers consider that ethnobiology comprises of cultural knowledge and practice (such as the use numerous subfields, such as , ethno- of Linnean or scientific nomenclature to , , and , but there describe local useful plants), whereas emic denotes is no consensus on this point. the internal perspective of local people (e.g., ethnobi- ethnobotany and ethnozoology Approaches to study- ological categories and nomenclature). ing the reciprocal interactions between people and economic As originally conceived, a branch of the plants and animals in their local environment. applied botany that arose during the colonial period This definition has been criticized as broad and open- to identify and characterize economically important ended, but it captures the common goals of analyzing plants and the products derived from them. Cur- traditional biological knowledge and assessing hu- rently, it is a scientific endeavor that seeks to docu- man impact on the environment. These approaches ment the of useful plants through agro- include subfields such as and pa- nomic, archaeological, ecological, ethnobotanical, leoethnozoology, which evaluate archeological evi- genetic, historical, phytochemical, and other empiri- dence on the past interactions between people, cal approaches. It overlaps broadly with ethnobiol- plants, and animals.

Encyclopedia of , Volume 2 Copyright  2001 by Academic Press. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. 609 610 ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOECOLOGY ethnoecology Typically defined as the study of local fields; in the words of , ethnobiology ‘‘com- knowledge and management of ecological interac- bines the intuitions, skills, and biases of both the an- tions. Recently, some researchers have proposed an thropologist and the biologist, often in quite unequal alternate definition, considering ethnoecology as an mixtures.’’ emerging field that focuses on local peoples’ percep- In one sense, ethnobotany, ethnobiology, and eth- tion and management of complex and coevolved re- noecology are new terms for old practices. People have lationships between the cultural, ecological, and eco- been exploring the usefulness of diverse plants, animals, nomic components of anthropogenic and natural and ecosystems since the dawn of humanity. Documen- ecosystems. It is concerned with the interaction be- tation of local people’s perception of the environment tween knowledge, practice, and production, and it emerged slowly over thousands of years as scholars is oriented toward applied research on conservation from many cultural traditions recorded local ways of and community development. classifying and using plants and animals. The onset of ethnoscience Arose as a minor subfield of European colonization of Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and concerned with recording in great detail local peo- the New World gave added impetus to the study of ples’ knowledge of biological organisms and the local knowledge of tropical and temperate organisms physical environment. Later, the term came to be and ecosystems. used in a more restricted sense by cognitive and Toward the end of the nineteenth century, academics linguistic anthropologists to refer to local classifica- began to use the prefix ethno- to refer to the way that tory systems (as an object of study) and their seman- local people view the natural world, in contrast to the tic analysis (as a methodological approach). In perspective of natural scientists trained in universities. France, the term is used to refer to ethnobiological They coined terms such as ‘‘ethnobotany’’ (first used in studies in general. print by Harshberger in 1896) and ‘‘ethnozoology’’ to indigenous, local, and traditional Adjectives used by describe these emerging fields of study that crossed the anthropologists, ethnobiologists, and other academ- boundaries of natural and social sciences. Interest in ics to describe people, practices, and knowledge. traditional environmental knowledge continued apace Indigenous denotes people (and their cultural prac- in the early twentieth century, and in 1935 Castetter tices and knowledge) who claim to be the original coined the term ‘‘ethnobiology,’’ setting as its agenda or long-term inhabitants of a particular place, in the systematic analysis of data collected by ethnobota- contrast to more recent colonizers. Traditional refers nists and ethnozoologists to achieve a deeper under- to established lifestyles, practices, and beliefs that standing of local peoples’ knowledge and lifestyles. Eco- guide cultural continuity and innovation—a defini- nomic botany gained importance as a parallel field tion that recognizes that traditions are always in a focused on useful plants and the products derived from process of adaptation and change. Local, preferred them. In 1954, Harold Conklin proposed the term ‘‘eth- by many researchers because it is the broadest and noecology,’’ originally conceived as a holistic and inte- least value-laden term, indicates that are grated approach to understanding local ecological found in a specific part of the world. It is commonly knowledge and practice on their own terms, even while used to refer to people, whether long-term residents drawing on the concepts and methods of diverse scien- or recent arrivals (rural or urban), who make a living tific disciplines. A focus on classificatory systems and from the land and are knowledgeable about the bio- the linguistic and anthropological methods used to ana- logical resources in their environment. lyze them gave high visibility to an approach called eth- noscience. In the 1980s and 1990s, further development of these various lines of research gave rise to new definitions, ALTHOUGH THE 100th anniversary of ethnobotany innovative theoretical orientations, and sophisticated (coined in 1896), the golden anniversary of ethnobiol- qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches ogy (first used in 1935), and the silver anniversary of applied to local knowledge of the environment. In addi- ethnoecology (appearing in 1954) have passed, there tion, ethnobiology expanded beyond its original geo- is no consensus on the precise definition of these fields. graphical borders as the field gained importance in This is explained in part because of their relatively countries such as China, India, and Mexico. There is recent origin and the current surge in their theoretical, currently a new synthesis emerging—as yet without conceptual, and methodological refinement. Disagree- consensus—that defines ethnobiology as the study of ment over definitions is typical of multidisciplinary biological sciences as practiced by local people through- ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOECOLOGY 611 out the world, comprising both empirical knowledge An overview of these early texts and later works (savoir) and technical know-how (savoir-faire), and in- reveals that ethnobiology and have clusive of subfields such as economic botany, ethno- evolved—much like the biological species and ecosys- botany, ethnoecology, and ethnozoology. tems that are their focus—through a process of punctu- ated equilibrium. Certain historical periods are marked by an intensive effort to expand empirical knowledge I. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT of natural phenomena, often by incorporating local lore, OF ETHNOBIOLOGY whereas other epochs are characterized by an unques- tioned acceptance of published works. Despite the insights provided by archaeological and historical linguistic studies, setting an even approxi- mate date of the emergence of local biological knowl- A. Early Scholars in Europe edge is a matter of opinion. A detailed understanding Academics often trace their intellectual history to the of the natural world was key to the independent emer- era of Greek philosophers, who lived more than 2300 gence of plant and animal domestication over a period years before our time. This is when classical botany ranging from 8500 B.C. in southwest Asia to 2500 B.C. and zoology were brought into existence by scholars in the eastern United States. However, environmental such as Aristotle, who sought to summarize all current knowledge reaches even further back into history, when knowledge about plants and animals in encyclopedic hunting and gathering dominated subsistence activities. works. It was as part of this endeavor that scholars in Some researchers would place the beginning of hu- Europe first made a systematic study of what local peo- man ecological knowledge at the dawn of humanity, ple knew about the environment. In part, Aristotle and approximately 7 million years ago. Early human ances- other early naturalists such as Theophrastus—who, as tors, who lived on the African continent 2.5 million author of De Historia Plantarum and other works, is years ago, apparently fashioned stone tools for harvest- considered the father of botany—rejected many local ing and processing food, probably allowing them to supernatural beliefs in their quest to understand the adapt to new environmental conditions. It is widely natural world. Simultaneously, they drew on common- assumed that humans have been observing natural phe- sense explanations and empirical knowledge of local nomena, distinguishing between biological organisms people when describing the classification and use of and discovering their uses ever since the emergence of plants and animals. early Homo sapiens approximately 500,000 years ago. Among the people who followed in the footsteps of The archeological record reveals that by 50,000 years these early naturalists is Dioscorides, a military physi- ago, Cro-Magnons had developed technologies for con- cian born in Asia Minor in the first century A.D.He struction, fishing, gathering, and hunting that were de- wrote De Materia Medica, a treatise on medicinal plants pendent on a detailed understanding of plants, animals, which was the standard reference of botanists, medical and other elements of the natural environment. doctors, and other scholars in Europe for 1500 years. Just as no one knows exactly when ecological knowl- Apart from drawing on previous herbals, Dioscorides edge appeared on the , there is no learned much about herbal remedies by interacting with clue when the original precursors of ethnobiologists local people he encountered during his wide-ranging came on the scene. The first critical observations of travels with the Roman army in the Mediterranean re- other peoples’ ways of perceiving nature are probably as gion. Pliny the Elder, a Roman scholar who was one of old as contact itself. Because these observations Dioscorides’ contemporaries, recorded extensive plant went unrecorded, the origin of the study of traditional lore in his 37-volume encyclopedia called Historiarum biological knowledge is lost in history. mundi or Natural History. He devoted 9 volumes to In the absence of other evidence, the historical roots medicinal plants, making frequent reference to tradi- of ethnobiology can be seen emerging over a period of tional practices and knowledge. several thousand years, when students of natural history from Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Chinese, Indian, Arabic, Native American, European, and other cultures began B. The Doldrums of the Middle Ages to record popular beliefs in scholarly texts. Original The documentation of local knowledge that marked studies focused on medicinal botany, agriculture, and the origin of biological thought in Greek and Roman horticulture—activities that drew heavily on the knowl- Antiquity was much less evident in the Middle Ages in edge of local people. Europe. The decline of the Roman Empire virtually 612 ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOECOLOGY halted scholarly research on natural history and resulted Drugs and Treatise on Poisons. The thirteenth century in the destruction of much existing literature of the brought the works of Rachid-eddin Ibn Es-Suˆ ri in the epoch. Throughout the Middle Ages, Europeans based Machreq (eastern Arabic region), who is credited with their studies of medicinal plants almost entirely on the the first herbal containing illustrations, which were works of Theophrastus, Pliny, Dioscorides, and other made by a collaborating artist from both living and early naturalists. Physicians from across the continent pressed plants. Ibn Es-Suˆ ri traveled widely, describing relied heavily on De Materia Medica, often trying unsuc- formerly undocumented plants from Syria, Palestine, cessfully to match the local flora to the approximately and Egypt that he discovered by interacting with local 600 Mediterranean species described by Dioscorides people of the region. His efforts were matched in the instead of documenting the popular knowledge of their Maghreb (western Arabic region) by Abuˆ -l-’Abbas En- own region. As anthropologist Scott Atran (1990) sum- Nabati—who documented local plants and their uses marized, during his extensive travels in what is now Spain, North Africa, Syria, and Iraq—and later scholars such as his After Aristotle, the practice of copying descrip- student Ibn Al-Baytar, author of the Treatise on Simples tions and illustrations of living kinds from previ- or Jami’ al-mufradat, which contains information on the ous sources superseded actual field experience synonymy (including Berber and other local names), in the schools of late antiquity. Well into the description, properties, and uses of approximately 1400 Renaissance, scholastic ‘‘naturalists’’ took it for species. Throughout this period, descriptions of specific granted that the local flora and fauna of northern plants were drawn from multicultural sources, includ- and central Europe could be fully categorized un- ing Berber plant knowledge and the traditional practices der the Mediterranean plant and animal types of Jewish pharmacists who lived throughout Europe found in ancient works. Herbals and bestiaries of and North Africa, passing their profession from one the time were far removed from any empirical generation to the next. As the Moors were forced from base. Andalucia and other parts of Europe, Arab science fell into decline. Later botanical treatises, including the Hadıˆqat al-azhaˆr of the sixteenth century Moroccan C. The Golden Age of the Moors scholar and medical doctor Al-Wazir Al-Ghassani, were Despite this stagnation on the part of European schol- largely based on the ’Umdat at-tabı´b and other early ars, general knowledge of medicinal plants was enriched works. by the flow of information coming from the Arab world, particularly through Spain (Andalucia), Sicily, and D. Scholars from Other North Africa. Although dedicated in part to translating the works of Aristotle, Theophrastus, Dioscorides, and Cultural Traditions other classical writers, Moorish and other medieval A similar pattern of initial empirical discovery and scholars in these regions pursued empirical research cross-cultural learning mixed with centuries of uncriti- that they applied to practical ends in agriculture, astron- cal acceptance of written works is evident in other cul- omy, botany, mathematics, medicine, and other fields. tural traditions. In China, the first scholarly studies of Although there are records of Arabic writings on botany traditional biological knowledge are thought to date at dating to the ninth century, it was particularly in the least to the fifth century B.C., approximately 200 years twelfth and thirteenth centuries that scholars became before early Greek philosophers began recording their prolific in recording precise original observations on ideas about botany and medicine. During this epoch, plant and animal biology, conducting experiments on the Chinese philosopher Confucius is said to have en- agricultural crops, and attempting to classify plants sys- couraged his students to study ancient knowledge, in- tematically. One of the key early scholars was Abuˆ -l- cluding traditional names of plants and animals. Kheyr Al-Ichbili, apparently the ‘‘anonymous botanist In the first or second century A.D., about the time that of Seville’’ of the latter half of the twelfth century who Dioscorides was afoot in the Mediterranean, Chinese wrote the ’Umdat at-tabı´b, a botanical treatise that con- scholars published the first of many materia medica, tains detailed descriptions of the anatomy, habitat, and referred to generally as bencao (from a combined term local names of plants. Maimonides, a Jewish scholar for tree and grass) in Chinese, which contain informa- resident in southern Spain during the twelfth century, tion on minerals, plants, and animals used traditionally contributed works such as Book Explaining Medicinal in the treatment of illness. Medical doctors of the fifth ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOECOLOGY 613 century A.D. revised these early bencao, providing a ma- some aspects of the ecological knowledge of the various jor reclassification of the various types of natural medi- ethnic groups they dominated at the height of their cines used at the time. The resulting pharmacopoeia political power and cultural development. Many of went unchanged and unchallenged for many centuries, these New World written sources of local knowledge much as the classic work of Dioscorides in Europe. At were victims of the conquest, destroyed by overzealous the end of the sixteenth century, a Chinese doctor missionaries and conquerors who wished to impose named Li Shizhen began to emulate the practice of European culture, languages, and religion on the people empirical observation that Confucius had advocated of the New World. many centuries before. His major work, the Bencao Gangmu or Compendium of Materia Medica, contains information on more than 10,000 herbal remedies that E. The Renaissance and Exploration he obtained not only by studying ancient texts but also During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Renais- by traveling to the countryside to talk with people. sance botanists began to emulate the methods that Di- Ayurveda, a system of medicine which putatively oscorides had applied approximately 1500 years pre- began in India during the sixth century B.C. and spread viously, bringing an end to the intellectual stagnation to Sri Lanka by the third century B.C. and into Tibet that characterized the Middle Ages in Europe. They by the seventh century A.D., was partially based on carefully observed plants in the field and inquired about . According to folklore, shepherds their local names and uses in Germany, Holland, Italy, and forest dwellers familiar with the types and proper- and other parts of Europe. This experience served them ties of medicinal plants first discovered the remedies well when faced with the influx of exotic species from used in this oriental medical practice. Their knowledge areas of the world discovered and colonized by Europe- was discussed in various literary religious works called ans during this period. The diversity of biological organ- vedas (from the Sanskrit word for knowledge), which isms discovered by explorers stimulated Linnaeus, Dar- were apparently written in India approximately 3200 win, and other natural scientists to formulate many of years ago, after millennia of oral transmission. Ay- the concepts that are the building blocks of modern- urvedic scholars later compiled additional empirical ob- day systematics and evolutionary studies. Although Lin- servations in a series of books referred to as the Nigh- naeus left some notes and sketches on the use of plants ants, or Vedic glossaries. During the subsequent period by local people, his greatest contribution to the future of foreign domination and internal conflict that brought field of ethnobiology was the incorporation of notions innovation and documentation of local knowledge to of folk biology and nomenclature, including the concept a standstill, these standard texts of ayurveda re- of morphological affinity as a criterion for defining taxa, mained unchanged. in the scientific classification of plants. Other ancient written sources that document local This Renaissance was the golden age of the European biological knowledge were in part the product of culture herbals. The shift from manuscripts (produced by hand) contact and changes in political and economic domi- to wood-cut and metal-engraved herbals published in nance. In the New World, for example, the Aztecs large numbers allowed new botanical knowledge to be broadened their own sophisticated knowledge of medi- disseminated widely. cine and agriculture as they sought tribute and learned The quest to exploit local knowledge and economi- of new useful plants from the different Mesoamerican cally important species which went along with coloniza- cultures they conquered. The Aztecs cultivated many tion inspired adventurers, missionaries, and natural his- newly discovered species in extensive highland botani- torians to record their observations on traditional cal gardens tended by people from various geographical biological knowledge in many parts of both the New regions of Mesoamerica. The depth and richness of the World and the Old World. As ethnobotanist Richard preconquest indigenous knowledge of the natural world Ford (1978) described, are demonstrated by scholarly works, including the Badianus Manuscript, an illustrated herbal written in A rapid progression of expeditions came to North 1552 by two Aztecs who had been educated by Catholic America to discover and to colonize, and the missionaries. One author, Martin de la Cruz, was an chronicles of adventure are a record of the utilitar- indigenous physician who had acquired his medical ian value of an unfamiliar landscape and the use knowledge empirically. The Mayas and Incas had simi- the indigenous people made of it. Its economic lar literate traditions and they doubtlessly recorded potential certainly had priority to any interest in 614 ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOECOLOGY

attitudes about the land. The observations . . . pro- cially plants. This enterprise, combined with tropical vided the first natural history of North America exploration, yielded such novel cures as quinine, which and the bases for the beginning of ethnobotany. was successfully used to control malaria in Europe and other regions. From the sixteenth century onwards, researchers be- As research on traditional biological knowledge ex- gan to focus increasing attention on the biological panded in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, wealth of tropical countries and the benefits it promised several lines of research became apparent, reflecting the for Europeans. To this end, scholars drew on the knowl- diversity of researchers who began to appreciate the edge of local people, who continually experiment with importance of the subject. The historical development cultivated and managed species in anthropogenic eco- of these various fields is intertwined, and the definition systems and wild plants harvested in natural ecosys- of each is in flux. There may be an emerging consen- tems. Scholars consulted both written sources, such as sus—one supported in this article—that ethnobiology Ayurvedic works and Chinese pharmacopoeias, and is the broadest field, comprising ethnobotany, ethno- oral history to produce extensive encyclopedias of use- zoology, ethnoecology, and economic botany as sub- ful plants from around the world, ranging from the fields. Other colleagues would posit ethnoecology or Coloquios dos simples e drogas da India, written by the even ethnoscience as the most inclusive term. In prac- Portuguese explorer Garcia ab Orta in 1563, to the 12- tice, this debate on terminology is less significant than volume Hortus Malabaricus of Van Rheede published the realization that these fields broadly overlap, and in the late 1700s and A Dictionary of Economic Products that the slight differences of opinion on definition are from the Malay Peninsula produced in 2 volumes by dwarfed by the general agreement on theory, concepts, Burkhill in 1935. and methods. Another notable example is the herbal of Rumphius, a seventeenth-century natural historian from Germany 1. Ethnobotany and Related Fields who spent nearly 50 years in Asia working for the Dutch By the end of the nineteenth century, researchers began East-Indies Company. Increasingly released from his to recognize the study of traditional biological knowl- administrative duties but still under the employ of the edge as a separate discipline. John W. Harshberger, a company, he focused his attention on studying useful professor of biology, initiated the fashion of using the plants, animals, and minerals in various regions that prefix ethno to indicate the study of local people’s natu- today constitute Indonesia. He provided descriptions ral history. In 1896, he used the term ethnobotany in of more than 700 medicinal or toxic plants, published print, and it began to replace names such as ‘‘aboriginal posthumously in the six volumes of the Herbarium botany’’ and ‘‘botanical ethnography’’ that had been used Amboinense. previously by other authors. In the words of Richard Ford (1978), after a ‘‘half century of scientific attention and an even longer history of casual observations,’’ the F. Creation of New Fields study of other people’s interaction with nature finally Although Rumphius and his counterparts approached had a name and recognition as a distinct line of aca- natural history as a holistic phenomenon, scholarly ac- demic endeavor. tivity in later centuries began to reveal a fragmentation The emergence of ethnobotany, ethnozoology, and of research into distinct disciplines, marking the begin- related fields coincided with important developments ning of reductionism in the sciences. Subdivisions of in the natural and social sciences toward the end of the science became more clearly defined, and professional nineteenth century. The diverse elements of natural practitioners began to specialize in specific subfields. history, including botany, zoology, pharmacognosy, Theoretical science was increasingly applied to techno- and other fields, began to mature into distinct disci- logical innovation, stimulating the growth of educa- plines, each with separate methods and goals. Scott tional institutions and commercial enterprises. Atran (1990) characterized this as the ‘‘breakaway of For example, pharmacognosy (the study of naturally science,’’ a time when natural historians began to leave occurring compounds that can be used medicinally and behind commonsense descriptions of natural phenom- in other ways) became recognized as a separate field of ena—drawn in part from local peoples’ perception and endeavor in the early nineteenth century. It focused on classification of nature—in order to embrace rigorous the identification, preparation, and commercialization experimental methods. Social scientists began to focus of drugs, which mostly came from natural sources, espe- on separate aspects of human society and culture, with ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOECOLOGY 615 the consequent emergence of fields such as anthropol- ular emphasis on systems of ethnobiological classifica- ogy, , and . tion. Thus, whereas economic botany emerged as a utilitarian practice firmly rooted in commerce and de- 2. Economic Botany velopment (and later developed theoretical frame- Nineteenth-century botanists, who focused primarily works), ethnoscience arose as an intellectual endeavor on the utility of plants and only secondarily on local oriented toward a deeper understanding of human cul- culture, began to refer to their approach as economic ture and cognition. botany. The goal of their research has been to document local uses of plants and to organize the resulting data 4. Ethnoecology according to the global system of plant classification. Even though he is most associated with the develop- They have produced detailed works on plants employed ment of the ethnoscientific approach, Conklin is cred- by local people for food, medicine, textiles, utensils, ited with coining the term ethnoecology in 1954. Given and many other purposes (Schultes and Raffauf, 1990). the precedent set by terms such as ethnobotany and Research on the commercial value and utility of ethnozoology, it would be natural to assume that eth- plants expanded as botanists from the United States noecology would refer to the study of local perceptions and Europe explored the New and Old World tropics of ecological processes, such as nutrient cycling, vegeta- in search of products that would increase the wealth tional succession, or the interactions between plants of developed countries and the well-being of people in and animals. An increasing number of researchers pro- general. Today, economic botanists continue to search pose a different definition, using the term to refer to for marketable products in tropical forests and else- local peoples’ perception and management of the com- where, but they are increasingly interested in how the plex and coevolved relationships between cultural, eco- commercialization of these resources can contribute logical, and economic components of anthropogenic to resolving the poverty, malnutrition, and diminished and natural ecosystems. This emerging subfield, much social status of local people as well as spurring economic as the broader field of ethnobiology, is concerned with development in developing countries. An increasingly the interaction between knowledge, practice, and pro- important offshoot of this enterprise is bioprospecting duction and is oriented toward applied research on (a term derived from ‘‘biodiversity prospecting’’), the conservation and community development. Mexican search for useful and novel products (including chemi- ecologist Victor Toledo stated that the aim of ethnoecol- cal constituents of medicinal value) from plants, ani- ogy should be the ecological evaluation of the intellec- mals, fungi, and other biological organisms. Other eco- tual and practical activities that people carry out during nomic botanists are concerned with developing their appropriation of natural resources. theoretical and methodological approaches to under- Although the definition of ethnobiology includes a standing the subsistence and commercial value of plant reference to knowledge and know-how (savoir and resources, now and in the past. savoir-faire), for ethnoecologists the distinction is be- tween an ethnobiological corpus, local peoples’ reperto- 3. Ethnoscience ries of concepts, perceptions, and symbolic representa- While botanists were establishing economic botany, tions of nature, and praxis, the art, science, and skill anthropologists and other social scientists were de- of appropriating nature and biological resources. The veloping a different perspective. In the tradition of interrelationship between knowledge and practice is ethnography developed by anthropologist , manifested in production, as people apply their intellec- ethnoscience emerged as a minor subfield dedicated to tual understanding of nature to the everyday tasks of recording in minute detail local peoples’ knowledge of farming, gathering, and hunting for subsistence and biological organisms and the physical environment. The commercial purposes. In order to understand these subfield underwent a further transition in the 1950s and complex interactions, ethnoecologists seek to elucidate 1960s, when cognitive and linguistic anthropologists how the management of anthropogenic and natural eco- began to focus on the empirical categories, social rules, systems—and the biological organisms they harbor— symbolic systems, and modes of behavior that reflect has arisen through a process of coevolution between how local people perceive the natural world. These the environment, knowledge, technology, social organi- early anthropological studies formed the foundations zation, and values of local peoples. for a new ethnoscientific approach that advocated rigor- Although attractive conceptually, the development ous analyses of ethnobiological knowledge, with partic- of this conception of ethnoecology has been limited 616 ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOECOLOGY by the lack of a unifying theoretical framework and a especially popular in the 1950s and 1960s, characterizes practical methodology. This distinguishes it from eth- the study of perception and classification of the natural nobiology, which is developing a central organizing world. In the 1980s and 1990s, attention shifted to local theory, an orientation toward hypothesis testing, and an management of biological resources and the environ- increasingly elaborate set of qualitative and quantitative ment, often drawing on ecological concepts and meth- methods, drawn in part from ethnobotany, ethnozool- ods. These areas are combined in various degrees in ogy, and economic botany. the following major trends in ethnobiological research.

5. Ethnobiology A. Cognitive Mapping Cle´ment (1998) proposes that the starting point for ethnobiology—as the field which integrates related ap- Ethnobiologists have documented local peoples’ spatial proaches such as economic botany, ethnobotany, eth- conceptualization, including their ability to locate bio- nozoology, and ethnoscience—is the 1860s, when the logical resources, discern landscape features, and iden- first designations for the field began to be used by tify different types of vegetation. This geographical liter- American and European scientists. In a historical sketch acy is linked to an aptitude for assessing the potential that spans a period of more than 130 years, he discusses productivity of the environment, often through the rec- the origins, key theories, and methodological ap- ognition of plant species that indicate fertility or sterility proaches of the main trends of ethnobiology. Although of soils. This expertise derives in part from local peoples’ no such historical framework of a scientific discipline sophisticated perception of how the various elements is without controversy and potential modification, of the ecosystem (organisms, soils, climate, topography, Cle´ment’s synopsis is a serious effort to provide a de- etc.) form an interdependent whole. In addition, it is tailed historical analysis of ethnobiology. derived from their classification of key geographical Cle´ment divides the development of the discipline landmarks that are labeled by specific toponyms, or into three eras and seven periods (Table I). The preclas- geographical place names. Local views of the landscape sical period, from 1860 to 1953, is dedicated to gather- are being integrated into geographical information sys- ing empirical data on the uses of plants and animals tems, which in turn are useful in creating biological from an etic perspective and to the first syntheses that resource maps and management plans for specific areas. begin to define the scope of the discipline. During the When united with ethnobiological inventories and classical period (1954–1980), there is a shift to studies studies of local categorization of ecological succession, carried out from an emic perspective and a particular community mapping allows researchers to test hypothe- focus on ethnobiological classification. An increase in ses on whether the highest number of useful plants collaborative work between academic specialists and and animals come from primary or secondary forest, local people and the formation of professional associa- or anthropogenic versus natural ecosystems. tions of ethnobiology characterize the postclassical pe- Local peoples’ mastery in selecting plant riod, from 1981 to the present. Later in the period, that yield the best fruit, the most potent medicine, or there is an increased focus on the appropriation and the best materials for construction is attributed in part management of plant and animal resources and a con- to their grasp of the landscape. These mental maps also cern for application of research results to the resolution explain their adeptness at selecting the best place to of environmental and social problems. This historical cultivate the earth, create human settlements, or leave review provides an appropriate starting point for con- natural areas that maintain soil fertility, water purity, sidering the current trends in basic and applied ethno- and other environmental benefits. Researchers have biological research. demonstrated that these skills can degenerate when local people find themselves pressured by economic needs to overexploit the resources available to them or are forced onto lands for which they are maladapted II. CURRENT TRENDS culturally. IN ETHNOBIOLOGY The ability of some local people to integrate and recall complex information on the local environment Recent studies in ethnobiology can be classified in three often gives them special proficiency as stewards of com- general, interrelated areas. Documentation and analysis munity reserves and other protected areas. Their ability of uses of plants and animals is the oldest aspect of to assess the quality of useful biological resources and ethnobiology. A focus on knowledge, which became to locate areas where these organisms are found in ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOECOLOGY 617

TABLE I Features of Various Historical Periods and Stages in Ethnobiologya

Period Stage Dates Features

Preclassic Economic uses 1860–1899 Studies of biological resources and their utility carried out by researchers affiliated with (1860–1954) major museums and universities; general lack of appreciation of the sophistication of local knowledge and subsistence systems from an emic perspective Information 1900–1931 Greater empirical depth in research but continued emphasis on economic uses of plants gathering and animals; better appreciation of complexity of local knowledge and use of plants and animals, especially as reflected in systematic attempts to record local terminol- ogy, myths and beliefs, and knowledge of anatomy and behavior; emergence of com- parative studies and standard methods The first 1932–1953 Emergence of ethnobiology as a distinct field of enquiry and appearance of the first syn- syntheses theses that delimit its scope; increasing distinction between economic botany and eth- nobotany, with the latter emphasizing the systematic documentation of local knowl- edge and management of plants; continued lack of recognition of scientific aspects of traditional biological knowledge Classic period Emic 1954–1968 Emergence of ethnoscience, leading to a focus on the organization of knowledge sys- (1954–1980) knowledge tems from the local perspective, with insights from linguistics and empirical anthropo- logical methods; relegation of the study of plant and animal resources to secondary importance; beginning of interest in ethnobiological classification and appreciation of the scientific basis of traditional knowledge Classification 1969–1980 Focus on ethnobiological classification, including principles of categorization and no- menclature, and the analysis of correspondence between scientific and local classifica- tions; accumulation of evidence for the scientific basis of local biological knowledge; increasing interest in ethnobiology beyond the United States and Europe, especially in Latin America and the Pacific Postclassic Associations 1981–1992 Production of major empirical works based on close collaboration between academic (1981 to and local researchers; development of theoretical approaches beyond classification, in- present) cluding gender relations in resource use, cultural significance of plants, and historical reconstruction of ethnobiological knowledge systems; emergence of academic socie- ties and specialized journals of ethnobiology, especially in developing countries Resource 1993 to Publication of standard methods manuals, quantitative techniques, and innovative em- management present pirical studies; emergence of concern about applying ethnobiology to conservation and development; renewed interest in economic botany, including nutritional and me- dicinal benefits of plants, but incorporating novel theoretical and methodological ap- proaches and informed participation by local people.

a Adapted from Cle´ment (1998).

greatest density makes them indispensable members of and biological organisms in their communities. Recent research teams that seek to identify priority areas for studies have shown that the process of plant domestica- conservation and management. Foresters and conserva- tion through selection of preferred varieties occurs not tion biologists draw on this expertise when deciding only in cultivated fields but also in other parts of the how to zone natural areas according to various land- anthropogenic landscape. From the cultivation of these use options. Local peoples’ classification of land units domesticated plants to the harvesting of wild useful also plays a key role in justification for claims of ances- species, local people engage in many ecological prac- tral domain and other forms of ownership of the lands tices that are often energy efficient and sustainable, at they have long occupied. least under traditional conditions. They capitalize on the consumptive use value of natural resources when they harvest plants and hunt animals for subsistence B. Resource Management and Valuation purposes and on the productive use value when they In order to ensure subsistence production and to earn barter or sell agricultural and forest products. They also a living, local people draw on their detailed ecological benefit, as does the whole world, from the nonconsump- knowledge to manage the diverse microenvironments tive value that comes from ensuring the viability of 618 ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOECOLOGY ecosystem function in general, including watersheds, such as plants, animals, soil, climatic zones, and vegeta- nutrient cycles, climate, soils, and other elements. tion types, there is a call for ethnobiologists to study By investigating the link between local knowledge, local peoples’ perceptions of ecological interactions, the practices, and production, ethnobiologists assess the reciprocal relationships of various elements of the eco- value of anthropogenic and natural ecosystems and the system. rationality of resource harvesting decisions made by Scientific covalidation allows researchers to under- small-scale farmers and gatherers of forest products. stand how to optimize the value—and also to ensure Much of this research is carried out in 1-ha plots, ag- the safety and efficacy—of plants and animals that are ricultural fields, home gardens, and other measured consumed or commercialized locally. In addition, coval- study sites, resulting in quantitative assessments of sus- idation provides insights on how traditional knowledge tainability and value. These methods allow researchers can be incorporated in the management of protected to evaluate the hidden costs of tropical forest destruc- areas. These studies reveal the breadth of local people’s tion, the economic benefits derived from both subsis- ecological knowledge and the wealth of resources avail- tence and commercial use of wild species, and the envi- able in natural areas, highlighting their potential value ronmental advantages of maintaining forest cover as a on the world market and their contribution to local way of buffering local climate and preserving the purity subsistence. In addition, this research plays an impor- of local air, water, and soil. Through these perspectives, tant role in convincing protected area managers of the conservation biologists, development specialists, and value of including local people in conservation and communities monitor the of current pro- development projects. ductive practices, propose new methods of managing fields and forests, and select new biological species that can be domesticated, cultivated, or gathered locally. D. Ethnobiological Classification Studies of local systems of resource management can Continuing a trend initiated by ethnoscientists in the also enrich the work of ecologists, who seek to restore 1950s, ethnobiologists are documenting how local peo- the diversity and value of forest ecosystems damaged ple classify diverse elements of the natural environment. by mismanagement or natural catastrophes. In addition, Based on fieldwork in diverse cultures, they describe evidence of long-term management of biological organ- complex interrelated sets of categories for plants, ani- isms and ecosystems reinforces local peoples’ claims for mals, soils, climates, vegetation, illnesses, food, and traditional resource rights, including just compensation other cultural domains and natural phenomena. when novel biological resources are commercialized. Much attention has focused on describing universal similarities in the ways in which local people perceive the natural world. Many generalizations on the categori- C. Scientific Covalidation zation, naming, and identification of plants and animals A key activity of ethnobiologists is to understand the are now widely accepted, whereas others continue to rationale behind the way local people interact with the provoke controversy, especially among anthropologists natural environment. In research laboratories, scientists who place emphasis on cultural relativity or the unique- carry out a broad array of analyses that seek to corrobo- ness of each . In particular, there is dis- rate the efficacy of local uses of plants and animals, agreement over why people are motivated to classify ranging from the identification of active compounds in various elements of the environment. Some researchers medicinal plants to appraisal of the tensile strength of seek a utilitarian explanation, suggesting that people natural fibers and assessment of the nutrient content enhance their ability to fulfill their basic subsistence of wild foods. In the field, ecologists assess how the needs by naming and classifying useful plants, animals, yields of agroecosystems compare with those achieved soils, and other natural features. Those who follow an by large-scale monocultures and to what extent tradi- intellectualist line of reasoning argue that there is a tional methods of wildlands management are sustain- universal human tendency to categorize plants and ani- able. Ethnobiologists compare ethnobiological catego- mals according to their overall appearance or symbolic ries with scientific taxa, judging the extent to which role. These researchers note that local people tend to local biological classifications correspond to biosyste- group organisms with a similar morphology or behav- matics. This range of activities is aimed at revealing the ior, regardless of their cultural utility. In a similar vein, logic, from a scientific perspective, of the thought and some colleagues propose an ecological rationale, noting practices of local people. Because much is understood that some aspects of ethnobiological classification can about the classification of specific cultural domains, be elucidated by reference to the role and interaction ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOECOLOGY 619 of plants and animals in diverse ecosystems. Although knowledge if they work with few informants. In con- there is an emerging consensus that classification is trast, consultation with a representative cross-section motivated by a combination of these factors, there con- of local people can provide a relatively accurate por- tinues to be much debate about which is the most trayal of perception of the natural world. Ethnobiolo- important dimension. gists are analyzing patterns of agreement among differ- Studies of ethnobiological classification contribute ent individuals, producing a quantitative method of to understanding—in part by reference to the global identifying the most culturally significant plant and system of plant systematics—how local people perceive animal species, soil types, forest zones, and other ele- and manage natural resources. When carried out in a ments of the landscape. These results ensure accuracy participatory way, ethnobiological inventories provide when preparing natural resource management plans an opportunity for local people and researchers to work and popular manuals produced with local communities. together to document the distribution, management, They can also play a role in understanding the knowl- and use of biological resources locally and globally. edge held by specialist user groups and how they are They produce the baseline data needed to produce bilin- transmitting it from one generation to the next. gual and bicultural manuals that compare and contrast different ways of classifying, managing, and using bio- logical organisms. These ethnobiological manuals con- F. Mechanisms of Change tribute to applied programs of conservation and devel- Another principle that has emerged in recent studies is opment by highlighting culturally significant species that knowledge about the natural environment and that local people are harvesting from the wild, managing ways of managing biological resources are not static. in anthropogenic landscapes, or cultivating in gardens They change as people move from one region to an- and fields. Often, these species are selected for use in other, as youth reinterpret what they have learned from initiatives that promote reforestation, sustainable har- elders, and as cultures come into contact with each vesting of minor forest products, or cultivation of useful other. Ethnobiologists are analyzing the dynamics of plants that contribute to the well-being and income of these cultural changes and assessing how they can en- local people. rich or impoverish local knowledge systems. Archaeology, linguistic reconstruction, archival re- search, and oral history open a window to the past, E. Knowledge Variation allowing researchers to discover how ecological knowl- There are significant differences in the way local people edge and resource management have evolved during perceive and use biological resources. Ethnobiological decades and centuries of political, demographic, and studies reveal that some plants and animals are known economic change. Studies of are re- by a majority of the , but others are the vealing which species, ethnobiological categories, and domain of curers, the elderly, women, or members of ecological practices have persisted, changed, or disap- another social group. There are significant differences peared over time, including those that have become in the biological knowledge of people living in separate widespread through borrowing across cultural bound- communities, belonging to distinct ethnic groups, aries. Research that focuses on world events in recent speaking different languages, or subsisting in diverse centuries allows historians to assess the impact of colo- ecological zones. These differences can be explained in nization and other forms of culture contact on local part by the fact that each person’s knowledge is corre- ways of perceiving and managing the natural world. lated with sociological characteristics such as age, gen- Many regions of the world are currently in an intense der, occupation, education, social status, and zone of period of change characterized by not only the destruc- residence. Perception and management of plants and tion of wildlands and loss of biological diversity but animals are also affected by each individual’s life experi- also the transformation of traditional biological knowl- ences—for example, if he or she has suffered from a edge. In some regions, young people are not learning major illness, migrated to other communities, or what their elders know about the environment, particu- worked as an apprentice to a plant specialist. larly as traditional ways of using biological organisms Awareness of these differences is essential when as- and managing natural areas fade away. Specialized sessing the depth and breadth of traditional knowledge knowledge held by only a few curers or spiritual leaders and the diversity of ecological practices in a particular is lost when no apprentice is found to carry on tradi- area. It is now recognized that researchers run the tional medical or religious practices. This loss of knowl- of obtaining a biased perspective of local biological edge is often linked to increasing contact with national 620 ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOECOLOGY and international cultures and is often exacerbated as ral resources. In areas in which traditional local people incorporate formal education, major reli- is still a viable element of local culture, conservation gions, and migration into their lifestyles. biologists are exploring ways of integrating it with the Ethnobiologists are playing a practical role in as- management of protected areas. sessing the extent of cultural transformation and search- ing for ways of promoting the survival of local ways of classifying, using, and managing natural resources. H. The Internationalization These actions are based on the assumption that partici- of Ethnobiology pation in the joint management of ecosystems and re- sources stimulates local people to retain and build on Although ethnobiology as an academic discipline origi- empirical knowledge and practices acquired during the nated in Europe and the United States, it has now been tens, hundreds, or thousands of years that they and embraced by researchers in many developing countries their ancestors have resided in the region. Studying who have subsequently adapted the techniques and the evolution of ethnobiological knowledge elucidates concepts to their own goals and local conditions. The mechanisms of cultural resistance, allowing us to un- emergence of professional societies of ethnobotanists derstand why local ecological knowledge persists and in developing countries, ranging from the Indian Soci- how we can reinforce the mechanisms of resistance. ety of Ethnobotanists in 1980 to the Asociacio´n Mexi- These studies also highlight the impact that local people cana de Etnobiologı´a in 1993 and the Sociedade Brasi- have had on the natural environment over time, often leira de Etnobiologia e Etnoecologia in 1997, is evidence providing evidence that they are responsible for main- of this trend. taining biological diversity and stimulating innovative The internationalization of ethnobiological research ideas for conservation in the future. and training has resulted in new directions in theory and application, enriching the field. In India, the tradi- tion of conducting ethnobotanical inventories in vari- G. Ritual, Religion, and Symbolism ous tribal areas has continued, but it is now supple- Plants and animals play an important role in rituals and mented by innovative approaches to studying the spiritual practices and are a recurring element in myths, harvest of nontimber forest products in joint forest legends, and stories. Some researchers assert that local management schemes and practical strategies to create people, because of their cosmology or understanding community biodiversity registers. Researchers in China of the universe, relate to the natural environment in have contributed studies on ecological succession in ways fundamentally different from that found in, for swidden fields, marketing of useful plants, and analysis example, European or American culture. A central ele- of agroforestry practices. Equally impressive are devel- ment in this conception is that traditional lifestyles link opments in Mexico, where ethnobiologists have focused people to nature in a way that provides them with a on the management of anthropogenic and natural eco- special understanding of nature. A common way for systems as well as the process of domestication of botan- outsiders to gain access to the world of ritual, magic, ical resources. and religion of local peoples is through apprenticeship with spiritual leaders, often accompanied by the use of psychoactive plants. III. THE NEW SYNTHESIS Whether or not these generalized notions of differ- ences between global knowledge systems and tradi- The proliferation of labels and orientations for the study tional knowledge are valid in all cases, it is undeniable of local biological knowledge and practice is likely to that spiritual beliefs about the forest and associated continue. Consensus on precise definitions will be dif- taboos on the use of natural resources are important ficult to achieve because researchers are approaching elements of conservation and sustainable use of natural the field from a variety of academic disciplines, bringing resources in many cultures. When people begin to aban- with them a wealth of new concepts and methods. De- don these beliefs, traditional controls on resource ex- spite this dynamic development, there is some sem- ploitation often disappear, potentially leading to devas- blance of an agreement on a typology for the discipline. tation of formerly protected areas such as sacred groves. Distinct approaches to gathering empirical data on Ethnobiologists are increasingly aware of the need to the reciprocal interactions between people and biologi- record these belief systems and to verify empirically cal organisms will continue to be referred to by terms what impact they have on conservation and use of natu- such as economic botany, ethnobotany, ethnoecology, ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOECOLOGY 621 and ethnozoology. Ethnobiology is becoming the pre- field that has always sought to blend perspectives from ferred term for an integrative discipline that draws on many cultural traditions. all these approaches to analyze traditional biological knowledge and practices throughout the world. It is See Also the Following Articles unified by a central theory that local peoples’ systematic • knowledge and management of biological organisms AGRICULTURE, TRADITIONAL HISTORICAL AWARENESS OF BIODIVERSITY • HUNTER-GATHERER SOCIETIES, and ecosystems can be classified as biological sciences, ECOLOGICAL IMPACT OF • , covalidated by qualitative and quantitative research BIODIVERSITY AND • SOCIAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS methods. Perceived in this way, ethnobiology blends conventional studies carried out by economic botanists, Bibliography ethnobotanists, ethnozoologists, and ethnoscientists that present a limited vision of local people’s interaction Alexiades, M. N. (1996). Selected Guidelines for Ethnobotanical Re- search: A Field Manual. New York Botanical Garden, New York. with the natural environment. This provides an oppor- Atran, S. (1990). Cognitive Foundations of Natural History: Towards an tunity for reintegration of various disciplines of natural of Science. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK. science, counteracting the impact of the reductionism Bale´e, W. (1994). Footprints of the Forest. Ka’apor Ethnobotany—The of global scientific knowledge. Historical Ecology of Plant Utilization by an Amazonian People. Ethnobiology seeks not only to integrate these vari- Columbia Univ. Press, New York. Balick, M. J., and Cox, P. A. (1996). Plants, People and Culture: The ous lines of scientific research but also to focus them on Science of Ethnobotany. Scientific American, New York. supporting community development and biodiversity Berlin, B. (1992). Ethnobiological Classification: Principles of Categori- conservation, which are clearly multidisciplinary en- zation of Plants and Animals in Traditional Societies. Princeton deavors. American ethnobiologist Darrell Posey argued Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ. for this style of ‘‘advocacy’’ or ‘‘applied ethnobiology,’’ Cle´ment, D. (1998). L’Ethnobiologie/ethnobiology. Anthropologica 40, 7–34. whose goal is to reform the economic, environmental, Cotton, C. M. (1996). Ethnobotany. Principles and Applications.Wi- and social policies that are at the root of many problems ley, London. which affect people in rural and urban settings. This Diamond, J. (1998). Guns, Germs and Steel: A Short History of Every- approach has stimulated a new generation of research- body for the Last 13,000 Years. Vintage, London. ers to blend scientific research with an awareness of Ellen, R. F., Parkes, P. S. C., and Bicker, A. (Eds.) (2000). Indigenous Environmental Knowledge and Its Transformations, Studies in Envi- political and ecological problems, including the loss of ronmental Anthropology. Harwood, Amsterdam. biotic and genetic resources, indigenous struggles for Ford, R. I. (Ed.) (1978). The nature and status of ethnobotany, land and resource rights, and negative aspects of global- Anthropological Papers No. 67. Univ. of Michigan, Museum of ization. The ultimate goal is , Anthropology, Ann Arbor. as defined by cultural, ecological, and economic param- Johns, T. (1990). With Bitter Herbs They Shall Eat It: Chemical Ecology and the Origins of Human Diet and Medicine. Univ. of Arizona eters. Press, Tucson. The yen for integration goes beyond creating an in- Le´vi-Strauss, C. (1966). The Savage Mind. Univ. of Chicago Press, terdisciplinary, applied field of study. Although ethno- Chicago. biologists have tended to concentrate on the empirical Martin, G. (1995). Ethnobotany. Chapman & Hall, London. side of local biological knowledge, there is renewed Plotkin, M., and Famolare, L. (1992). Sustainable Harvest and Market- ing of Rain Forest Products. Island Press, Washington, D.C. interest in symbolic and other interpretive approaches Posey, D. (Ed.) (1999). Cultural and Spiritual Values of Biodiversity. that could give a broader view of how people perceive Intermediate Technology, London. their natural surroundings. Many ethnobiologists advo- Prance, G. T., Chadwick, D. J., and Marsh, J. (1994). Ethnobotany cate adopting a participatory approach through which and the Search for New Drugs. Wiley, Chichester, UK. the entire study, from research design to application of Schultes, R. E., and Raffauf, R. F. (1990). The Healing Forest: Medicinal and Toxic Plants of the Northwest Amazonia. Dioscorides Press, the results, is conceived as a collaborative effort between Portland, OR. local people and researchers. These developments rep- Simpson, B. B., and Connor-Ogorzaly, M. (1995). Economic Botany: resent a significant achievement for ethnobiology, a Plants in Our World, 2nd ed. McGraw-Hill, New York.