Cognitive Studies in Ethnobiology: What Can We Learn About the Mind as Well as Human Environmental Interaction?

An Interdisciplinary Perspective on the Loss of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in the Tehuantepec Isthmus, Oaxaca

“…In the plant classifi cation of the Isthmus Zapotec, the unique beginner (i.e., the sole initiator) is not named-i.e., there is no term to name the Zapotec "plant" concept. This feature is shared with other languages and does not necessarily mean that plants are not recognized as a conceptual category [ 22 ].…”

“…19.1 ). That study is part of a long-term ethnobiological research project-in the tradition of "cognitive studies in ethnobiology" ( sensu [ 22 ])-the fi rst stage of which was recently the basis of a Ph.D. thesis defended at the National Autonomous University of Mexico [ 23 ]. The evidences collected and analyzed in the aforementioned research indicate that (a) the level of linguistic competence in the local language, as well as (b) economic activity and (c) the degree of schooling are the most signifi cant causes behind the loss of TEK.…”

“…Throughout their precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial historical trajectories, nonWestern, traditional societies have generated classifi cations in various domains of knowledge, including the one properly concerned with animals, plants, and other living beings [ 22 ]. Beyond its identifi cation by certain major strands of anthropological theory -for instance, structuralist and post-structuralist approaches (e.g., [ 43 , 44 ])-such biological knowledge domain is crucial to articulate the technical concept of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), an ethnobiology and cognitive anthropology notion that proves indispensable to interpret the results of ethnobotanical studies conducted in regions with high degrees of biocultural diversity [ 11 -18 ].…”

Review: Current status of ethnobiological studies in Merauke, Papua, Indonesia: A perspective of biological-cultural diversity conservation

“…Ethnobotany serves as a bridge to deepen perceptions and conceptions in relation to the vegetal resources of the environment. These terms relate more to cognition than to pure utilitarianism and suggest that cognitive ethnobiological studies amongst different ethnic groups in the region would be fruitful (Ross and Revilla-Minaya 2011). The cognitive approach has been somewhat illustrated in research by, Warib (1996), Muliyawan et al (2013), Wattimena (2013), Sofyandy (2014), and Hisa et al (2017), but only limited data was provided in these studies.…”

“…We argue that a biocultural conservation approach can be a bridge to facilitate aspects that have not been noticed by previous ethnobiological studies particularly with regard to cognitive ethnobiology. The areas of cognitive ethnobiology may include the study of how knowledge is acquired, transmitted, and transformed across cultures and generations, loss of knowledge as well as behavioral studies related to resource management and conflict over resources (Ross and Revilla-Minaya 2011;De Vette 2012;Kansky and Knight 2014;Madden and McQuinn 2014;McCarter et al 2014;Teel et al 2014;Norrman 2015;De Pourcq et al 2015;Baynham-Herd et al 2018), this area also includes knowledge of folk taxonomy (Keil 2013;Poncet et al 2015;Berlin 2014) which has not been the concern of ethnobiologists in Indonesia today. This folk taxonomy study emphasizes the exploration of the sematic aspects of the language of existing indigenous peoples to find out the conceptions of landscape elements from various perspectives of indigenous peoples' knowledge (Abraao et al 2010;Hunn and Meilleur 2010;Johnson 2010;Johnson and Hunn 2010;Johnson and Davidson-Hunt 2011).…”