Cultural comparisons in ethnobiological research

Abstract

A research focus on cultural comparisons in ethnobiology can answer questions about the incidence, distribution, and causes of cultural variation in ethnobiological knowledge. It also provides insight into the rich diversity of ways in which communities interact with and use biological resources to sustain a living. Cross-cultural research has shown that the same biological resources accessible to different cultural groups are often used and valued in different ways and thus occupy specifi c cultural niches. This research has also been instrumental in showing that even though native communities tend to possess a larger body of knowledge about natural resources than immigrants and people of mixed ancestry who share the same living areas, the former can still acquire plant knowledge from the latter groups. As such, cross-cultural research adds depth and richness to ethnobiological data and contributes to hypothesis testing and theory building in ethnobiological research. In addition, understanding the patterns by which people know and use their biological resources is of central importance to projects that aim to reconcile biological conservation and local development through the identifi cation of species that hold high cultural importance.