Ecological Anthropology

Abstract

The term “ecological anthropology” was introduced into the anthropological literature to refer to ways of understanding human–environment relations using a systems approach and the conceptual and methodological apparatus of biological ecology. It grew in reaction to the perceived difficulties of Steward's cultural ecology and simplistic notions of environmental determinism and possibilism. Its key concepts have included ecosystem, feedback, cultural adaptation, energy, and nutrient flow, and it is associated with quantitative methods such as carrying capacity, time budgeting, and measurements of energy input and output. A progressive critique of some of its foundational assumptions led from the 1970s onward to a diversification of approaches now broadly encompassed by the term “environmental anthropology.”