Oral History in Ethnobiology and Ethnoecology

Abstract

Oral history is a methodology in which statements about history as it is experienced in its many dimensions are recorded. To access memory of facts, research that employs oral history techniques uses the inter-viewee's orality and memory. In ethnobiological and ethnoecological studies, in which information acquired from the informant's memory is also used, oral history may be very useful with regard to gaining a detailed understanding of the interrelationship between people and the environment; in addition, it may provide techniques for the systematization and analysis of data. By reading this chapter, the reader will become familiar with the primary conceptual and methodological premises of oral history, will understand how ethnobiological and ethnoecological research may use oral history both to collect and to analyze data, and will also gain access to an analysis of the use of oral history in ethnobiology, ethnoecology, and environmental history research.