CHAPTER ONE

1. Introduction to Ethnobiology
What is Ethnobiology?
 Ethnobiology is summarized in two word; ethno, ‘the
study of people’, and biology, ‘the study of life’.

 It is the scientific study of dynamic relationships

among peoples, biota, and environments.

 More specifically, Ethnobiology is the systematic

cross cultural study of how people learn, name, use,
and organize knowledge about the biota around them.
 CHAPTER ONE
1. Introduction to Ethnobiology
 Ethnobiology is the scientific study of the way plants
and animals are treated or used by different human
cultures.

 It studies the dynamic relationships between peoples,

biota and environments, from the distant past to the
immediate present.

 “Folk biology” is a term commonly used by

ethnobiologists to refer to biological classification and
reasoning particular to cultural groups.
 Continued
 This field has become a characteristically academic
pursuit interested largely in human cognitive (reason-
based knowledge aquiring) capacities explored through
exotic classifications of flora and fauna for anthropologists
.

 The field itself focuses on the study of how human

societies related to the biosphere. It is therefore
conventionally centered in the use of diverse flora and
fauna by indigenous societies both in space and time.

 It is a branch of study dealing with documentation of

traditional/ indigenous uses of plants and animals
as well as their associated preparations methods.
 Continued
 In recent past however, the study also encompasses
the study of the processes of cultivation,
management and domestication of these biological
resources.
o It is part of the wider ethnoscience (folk science)
which includes other subsets such as:

o ethnoecology  ecological concepts and

relationships held by a given people or culture),

o ethnobotany  the study of how human beings

have utilized plants for a wide diversity of primary
survival and aesthetic purposes,
 Continued
 In recent past however, the study also encompasses
the study of the processes of cultivation,
management and domestication of these biological
resources.

o ethnopharmacology  scientific exploration of

biologically active agents traditionally employed by
man),

o traditional ecological knowledge  experiences

acquired over thousands of years of direct human
contact with the environment.
 1.1 Historical Review of Ethnobiology
 The four phases of development of ethnobiology are
illustrated below based on time scale.

1. Beginnings (1400s-1800s) 2. Phase I (1900s-

1940s)

3. Phase II (1950s-1970s) 4. Present Phase (1980s-

2000s)

Beginning phase (1400s-1800s)

 Naturalists have been interested in local biological
knowledge since the time Europeans started
exploring the world from the 15th century
onwards.
 Biopiracy
 Europeans were not only sought to understand the
new world they intruded into but also were on the
lookout for resources that they might profitably exploit
without the permission of resource owners, committing the crimes of
biopiracy.

 It is the term used to refer to the use of bioresources

by multinational companies and other organizations
without proper authorization from countries and
people concerned without compensatory payment.

 The secrete exploitation and utilisation of

bioresources from a country by several organisations
and multinational companies without proper
authorisation.
 Continued
 Local biological knowledge collected and sampled
over this early centuries significantly informed the early
development modern ethnobiology.

 During the 17th century George Eberhard Rumphius

benefited from local biological knowledge in
producing his catalogue, “Herbarium Amboinese”,
covering more than 1200 plant species of Indonesia.

 In the 18th century, Carl Linnaeus relied upon Rumphius

‘work and also corresponded with other people all around
world

 develops the biological classification scheme that

now underlies the arrangement of much of the
accumulated knowledge of the biological sciences.
 Continued
 During the 19th century, Charles Darwin, “the father of
evolutionary theory” on his voyage to the Beagle

 took interest in the local biological knowledge

of the people he encountered.

Phase I (1900s-1940s)
 During the 20th century, ethnobiology emerges as a
distinctive practice and as a part of the records
being made by other peoples and cultures.

 At its earliest and most rudimentary stage, it

comprised listing the names and uses of plants and
animals in native languages.
 Continued
The 'first phase' of development of ethnobiology as a practice
has been described as still having essentially a utilitarian
purpose.

Phase II (1950s-1970s)
 Second phase arises out of phase I where the researchers
now striving to better document and understand how
other peoples' themselves "conceptualize and
categories" the natural world.

Present phase (1980s-2000s)

 By the turn of the 20th century ethnobiological
practices, research findings have had a significant
impact and influence across a number of fields of
biological inquiry including ecology, conservation biology,
 How old is Ethnobiology?
 The history of ethnobiology goes back to the time when
humans started making conscious interactions with plants
and animals.

 ethnobiological work seems to have started with

Christopher Columbus (1492) who brought to Europe
Tobacco, maize, cotton, spices and other useful
plants.

 Immigrants in the New World - documented food,

medicine, useful plants of Aztec, Maya, Inca
peoples.

 The increasing interest of Europeans on Native uses of

plants and the wild life, was also increasingly
 How old is Ethnobiology as Academic Discipline?
 One can note that, the definition and concept of
ethnobiology has been changing during

o its early history of progress and much of the

information available is on Ethnobotany, which
is an older academic discipline than the others.

 In 1885: John Harshberger used the term Ethnobotany

 In 1889: Stearns wrote about "ethno-conchology," the

study of shell money (a publication on ethnozoology)

 In 1873 Powers introduced the term 'Aboriginal Botany'

 accepted for the next 25 years
 Continued
 In 1895 - a lecture concerning the collection was presented by
John Harshberger and the term Ethnobotany introduced

 In 1900 - the first Doctoral dissertation in Ethnobotany

(indicated an increasing interest in the subject area)

 In 1930- 50 courses in ethnobotany started in many

universities both in the undergraduate and the graduate
programmes

 By the mid - 1980s ethnobotany had become widely

recognized in the USA and in 1981 American based society
of ethnobiology was formed with the first issue of its
Journal of Ethnobiology

 This in turn was soon followed by the formation of the

 Emic and Etic Perspectives in Ethnobiology
 The term emic and etic were first coined by the famous
American linguist and Philosopher Kenneth L. Pike in
1954.

 He coined the term etic to refer to the detached

observer`s view, and the term emic for that of the
normal (insider) participants view.

 These concepts have been used in different disciplines

like anthropology, ethnoscience and psychology.

 The two approaches have certain distinguishing

characteristics as outlined in the following table.
Table 4: Comparison of the etic and emic perspectives
Etic view Emic view
 An alien view, the → Domestic view, leading to
structuring of an outsider units which corresponding
to those of an insider
 Cross cultural and its → Monocultural view, its units
units are derived by are derived from internal
comparing many systems functional relations on one
individual or culture at a
time
 Classificatory or → Structural, since its units
typological since its units are derived from internal
lead to a classifying grid relations and leads to units
which will be known after
analysis
 Classificatory or → Structural, since its units
typological since its units are derived from internal
lead to a classifying grid relations and leads to units
which will be known after
analysis
 Etic views are → Emic criteria are
measurable as such with observable in reference to
reference to the system differential responses
which they elicit in relation
to other systems.
 Etic systems are the → Emic systems are
creation of the analyst, discovered by the analyst
conceptual tools ready to and constitute reaction of
be applied to data so as local participants
to appreciate its
structuring

An etic analysis is based on → An emic analysis is based

predetermined cultural on internal structural and
concepts external to that functional elements of a
cultural system particular cultural system

Etic criteria are absolute or → Emic criteria are relative to

somewhat relative to an the place in the particular
absolute grid system
 Continued
 Etic constructs give accounts, description and analysis
expressed interms of the conceptual schemes and
categories that are regarded as meaningful and appropriate
by the community of observers.

 It is termed “etic” if and only if it is in accord with the

principles deemed appropriate by science.

 Thus, etic constructs must be precise, logical,

comprehensive, replicable, falsifiable, and observer
independent.

 On the other hand, an emic construct is termed “emic” if

and only if it is in accord with the perceptions and
understandings deemed appropriate by the insider`s
 Continued
 The validation of emic knowledge thus becomes a
matter of consensus namely, the consensus of native
informants, who must agree that the construct matches
the shared perceptions that are characteristics of their
culture.

 Consensus is the key in validation of

ethnobiological information.
 Ethnobiological Classification
 Like any other academic disciplines, ethnobiology could
be divided in to various branches that are studied by
different sub-specializations.

 The literature shows that the mode of dividing

ethnobiology into subfields could take one of two major
forms:

On the basis of the level of development and

On the basis of specific sub-disciplines
 Division by Level of Development
 The criteria for this approach are mainly related to the
level of sophistication of the study and its
methodological rigour.

 Based on the level of development of the field as a

scientific discipline, ethnobiology could be placed on
ladder with its lower steps representing
1) Basic Ethnobiology
2) Quantitative Ethnobiology
3) Experimental Ethnobiology and
4) Applied Ethnobiology at higher level
 Continued
1. Basic Ethnobiology
 In the historical events of development of ethnobiology,
it is shown that the early ethnobiological studies
concentrated on

 cataloguing long lists of plants and animals

with their associated preparation and uses.

 It mainly focuses on descriptions and collections of

useful specimens of the biota with etic perspectives
as the guiding principles.

 The study methodology of basic ethnobiology is

heavily dominated by qualitative approach.
 Continued
Quantitative Ethnobiology
 It is concerned with developing methods that allows
quantitative description and to evaluate and
analyze primary data sets.

 This helps to add sound scientific methodology both

for data extraction and analysis.

Experimental Ethnobiology
 It is primarily concerned with the use of the biota in
search of products for industrial, medical,
agricultural and other applications.
 Continued
Applied Ethnobiology
 Primarily, it is concerned with focusing on the areas
where ethnobiological knowledge is important as in the
case of:
biodiversity conservation
ecotourism
agroethnobotany
ecoagriculture
homegardening
natural product chemistry
drug discovery etc.
 Continued
Division by Discipline
 The major disciplinary categories of ethnobiology are
ethnobotany and ethbozoloogy.

 Another important sub-field that has developed recently

is ethnoecology.
 Agrobiodiversity
 It is the result of the interaction between the environment,
genetic resources and management systems and
practices used by culturally diverse peoples.

 Thus, agrobiodiversity encompasses the variety and

variability of animals, plants and micro-organisms that are
necessary for sustaining key functions of the agro-
ecosystem.

 It comprises the diversity of genetic resources (varieties,

breeds) and species used for food, fodder, fiber, fuel and
pharmaceuticals.

 It is the outcome of natural selection processes and the

careful selection and inventive developments of farmers,
herders and fishers over millennia. It is a vital sub-set of
 The Role of Agrobiodiversity

Experience and research have shown that agrobiodiversity

can:
 Increase productivity, food security, and economic
returns

 Reduce the pressure of agriculture on fragile areas,

forests and endangered species

 Make farming systems more stable, robust, and

sustainable

 Contribute to sound pest and disease management

 Conserve soil and increase natural soil fertility and

 Continued
 Contribute to sustainable intensification

 Diversify products and income opportunities

 Reduce or spread risks to individuals and nations

 Help maximize effective use of resources and the

environment

 Reduce dependency on external inputs

 Improve human nutrition and provide sources of

medicines and vitamins, and

 Conserve ecosystem structure and stability of species

 Agroforestry
 Cultivating trees and agricultural crops in intimate
combination with one another is an ancient practice
that farmers have used throughout the world.

 King (1987) states it was general custom to clear-fell

degraded forest, burn the slash, cultivate food crops for
varying periods on the cleared area, and plant or sow
trees before, along with, or after sowing agricultural
crops.

 Agroforestry is a collective name for land-use systems

and technologies where woody perennials are
deliberately used on the same land as agricultural crops
and/or animals, in some form of spatial arrangement or
temporal sequence.
 Continued
 In agroforestry systems there are both ecological and
economical interactions between the different components.

 A strictly scientific definition of agroforestry should stress

two characteristics common to all forms of agroforestry
and separate them from the other forms of land use namely:

o the deliberate growing of woody perennials on the same

unit of land as agricultural crops and/or animals, either in
some form of spatial mixture or sequence;

o there must be a significant interaction (positive and/or

negative) between the woody and non-woody
components of the system, either ecological and/or
economical.
 D
EN