Diaspora ethnobiology

Abstract

Ethnobiological research often focuses on the relationship between culturally signifi cant species and relatively stable human populations. This follows from the assumption that learning the properties of nature is space and time contingent. However, migration is a major feature of human existence, and although mobility in the past was often of a seasonal nature, many other movements represented permanent relocations to distant landscapes. Resultant diaspora communities often found themselves confronted with unfamiliar cultures and alien biotas, conditions that presented barriers to continuity in maintaining traditional ethnobiological relations. Nevertheless, diaspora communities around the globe crafted novel relations with wild and domesticated nature by introducing useful biota, by substituting local species for those left in their homelands, and by assimilating knowledge of the useful biota in their chosen homes. This chapter examines these three ethnobiological processes with reference to prehistoric human migrations, colonial European migration, the plight of enslaved Africans, and recent human migrations.