Ethnobiology

Ethnobiology is the scientific study of the way living things are treated or used by different human cultures. It studies the dynamic relationships between people, biota, as well as environments, from the distant past to the immediate present.

"People-biota-environment" interactions around the world are documented & studied through time, across cultures, and across disciplines in a search for valid, reliable answers to two 'defining' questions: "How and in what ways construct human societies usage nature, and how and in what ways take human societies impression nature?"

Subjects of inquiry

All societies make use of the biological world in which they are situated, but there are wide differences in use, informed by perceived need, usable technology, and the culture's sense of morality and sustainability.[] Ethnobiologists investigate what lifeforms are used for what purposes, the particular techniques of use, the reasons for these choices, and symbolic and spiritual implications of them.

Different societies divide the living world up in different ways. Ethnobiologists effort to record the words used in particular cultures for living things, from the most specific terms analogous to species label in Linnean biology to more general terms such(a) as 'tree' and even more loosely 'plant'. They also try to understand the overall structure or hierarchy of the kind system whether there is one; there is ongoing debate as to if there must always be an implied hierarchy.

Societies invest themselves and their world with meaning partly through their answers to questions like "how did the world happen?", "how and why did people come to be?", "what are proper practices, and why?", and "what realities exist beyond or unhurried our physical experience?" apprehension these elements of a societies' perspective is important to cultural research in general, and ethnobiologists investigate how a societies' opinion of the natural world informs and is informed by them.

In ordering to represent effectively in a condition place, a people needs to understand the particulars of their environment, and numerous traditional societies have complex and subtle understandings of the places in which they live.[] Ethnobiologists seek to share in these understandings, refers to ethical concerns regarding intellectual property and cultural appropriation.

In cross cultural ethnobiology research, two or more communities participate simultaneously. This enables the researcher to compare how a bio-resource is used by different communities.