Biocultural Perspective Research Articles

Geographic origin, ancestry, and death circumstances at the Cornaux/Les Sauges Iron Age bridge, Switzerland

Cornaux/Les Sauges (Switzerland, Late Iron Age) revealed remnants of a wooden bridge, artifacts, and human and animal skeletal remains. The relationship between the collapsed structure and the skeletal material, whether it indicates a potential accident or cultural practices, remains elusive. We evaluate the most plausible scenario for Cornaux based on osteological, taphonomic, isotopic, and paleogenomic analysis of the recovered individuals. The latter amount to at least 20 individuals, mostly adult males. Perimortem lesions include only blunt force traumas. Radiocarbon data fall between the 3rd and 1st c. BCE, although in some cases predating available dendrochronological estimates from the bridge. Isotopic data highlight five to eight nonlocals. No close genetic relatedness links the analyzed skeletons. Paleogenomic results, the first for Iron Age Switzerland, point to a genetic affinity with other Central and Western European Iron Age groups. The type of skeletal lesions supports an accidental event as the more plausible explanation. Radiocarbon data and the demographic structure of the sample may suggest a sequence of different events possibly including executions and/or sacrifices. Isotopic and paleogenomic data, while not favoring one scenario over the other, do support earlier interpretations of the last centuries BCE in Europe as a dynamic period from a biocultural perspective.

Research on the Inheritance Education of Yellow River Culture from the Bio-cultural Perspective

The Yellow River, as mother river, its culture has taken the lead of the overall process of Chinese civilization. The Yellow River culture originated from the interaction between local people and the Yellow River for thousands of years, so its culture is based on place. However, influenced by traditional research in the field of biology, environmental education(EE) has not included any cultural content, and EE and cultural inheritance education have always been two unrelated contents. Biocultural diversity(BCD) is the product of biological and cultural co-evolution in social-ecological systems. It advocates for the integration of culture and nature in conservation practice. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to introduce the perspective of BCD and its new experience from the latest researches into the field of education. A broad bibliographic search in the databases was carried out by EDS(EBSCO DISCOVERY SERVICE) from De La Salle University Dasmariñas on-line Library. A review of relevant literature reveals the division between nature and culture in the field of conservation and education. Therefore, adopting a BCD perspective in inheritance education of Yellow River culture recommends beyond the epistemological bias of traditional EE, which views environmental education as a single content unrelated to culture, and advocates for interdisciplinary integration and the participation of different stakeholders, in order to achieve a broader public interest through comprehensive curriculum involvement. It has both theoretical evidence and a large amount of empirical research support, indicating that the perspective introduced into education is correct and feasible for YR culture education, and it is a diverse, open, and inclusive attitude towards various disciplines and stakeholders. The curriculum development from biocultural perspective will be a beneficial educational and research attempt, which may be beneficial in improving the current problem of fine division of disciplines and weak applicability of subject knowledge.

The Genealogy of Play

In 1924, exactly a century ago, the world-famous children’s author Alan Milne wrote this much-loved rhyme about the play activities of his young son: Where am I going? I don’t quite know. Down to the stream where the king-cups grow-Up on the hill where the pine-trees blow-Anywhere, anywhere. I don’t know…Where am I going? The high rooks call: “It’s awful fun to be born at all”. Where am I going? The ring-doves coo: “We do have beautiful things to do”. But in 2024, in much of the Western world, allowing a young child to wander in this manner would be seen by many as dangerous, reckless and negligent. For example, in 2019, Renee Umstattd Meyer and her colleagues found that a large proportion of children in the post-industrial world did not take the recommended amount of exercise in the outdoor environment, and even where spaces were specifically made available to them, parents feared that they would be infiltrated by crime and violence. This article considers the emergent effects of significant cultural change in children’s independent and collaborative free play opportunities. It draws on an ethological and biocultural perspective to argue why independent, active free play, particularly involving peer collaboration, is so important to human development.

Traditional Knowledge and Biocultural Heritage about Medicinal Plants in a European Transboundary Area (La Raya: Extremadura, Spain—Alentejo, Portugal): Transdisciplinary Research for Curriculum Design in Health Sciences

Traditional knowledge about medicinal plants, and the biocultural heritage derived from them, can be a useful tool for curricular design in health sciences. Research on this topic oriented toward university students has an interesting potential from a multidisciplinary or transdisciplinary treatment. This field allows for establishing relationships between socioeconomic and environmental problems and the health and well-being of people from the perspective of the intangible heritage of rural communities. On the other hand, traditional knowledge draws from very diverse sources such as empirical, magical, and religious components, primitive medicines, and even from academic medicine itself when it ceases to be scientific. Methodological triangulation is used in terms of data (times, spaces, and people), as well as researchers from different areas of knowledge integrating approaches with an interpretive purpose. Located in a European transboundary territory, the study area contains the mountain ranges of Alor (Spain) and São Mamede (Portugal), two cross-border areas where key informants have been interviewed. The observation unit is people who perform traditional practices to gather natural products, and other randomly selected informants. The study was completed with information collected from the undergraduates of the Escola Superior de Saúde de Portalegre (Portugal). The purpose of this work was to highlight the application of traditional knowledge based on medicinal plants in university studies of health sciences. Based on the results obtained and an epistemological discussion, we propose an educational intervention to broaden the professional mindset from a biocultural perspective. Our proposal directs the student’s gaze toward the investigation of medical history and biocultural heritage to understand the determinants of health and to respect the idiosyncrasies of their communities.

Biological and cognitive mechanisms and the role of culture in theory of mind development: In need of an integrative, biocultural perspective?

The present paper attempts a comprehensive approach to the biological, cognitive, as well as cultural foundations of theory of mind development. A critical analysis and synthesis of contemporary research findings serves as a basis for revisiting key theoretical accounts regarding the nature and development of this valuable sociocognitive faculty. Are the findings best interpreted within frameworks which consider developmental change and individual differences in the domain-general cognitive abilities (executive functions) that may underlie performance on theory of mind tasks (processing account)? Or is it more fruitful to discuss the development of theory of mind based on domain-specific mechanisms or capacities: an innate, modular mechanism that is underpinned by neurological maturation (modularity theories), or an inborn capacity to form naïve, intuitive theories about the mind, which are then subject to conceptual change as a function of experience (theory theory account), or a mechanism that serves simulations of mental states and related attributions (simulation theories)? Where possible, biological and neurocognitive processes, and experiential influences are discussed in combination. A disentanglement of general cultural influences from more proximal, social or familial effects on theory of mind development is also attempted. The aim is to highlight the value of an integrative, interdisciplinary approach to its study: a biocultural perspective could essentially serve this purpose by shifting attention to the interplay of biological, cognitive, and environmental forces shaping the lifespan dynamics of human theory of mind.

Operationalizing the biocultural perspective part II: A review of biocultural action principles since The Declaration of Belém

In part 1 of our review of the biocultural conservation literature - conducted in 2019 - we utilized a rapid appraisal approach to determine that while the biocultural perspective was born within the action-oriented and Indigenous People and Local Community (IPLC)-Centered Declaration of Belém, the subsequent scientific discussion remained largely in a conceptual holding pattern. In Part 2, we reengage the literature later in time - mid-2021 - and with a more intensive qualitative analysis methodology to pursue the trends we observed and to more deeply perceive and comprehend the operating principles of the most impactful biocultural action research, which we define as research that fulfills the clear prescriptions of the Declaration of Belém. Toward these ends, we develop and utilize a systematic review methodology including thematic analysis, appreciative inquiry, and collaborative analysis. Our findings not only show an increasing concentration of action-orientation in the emerging literature, but identify and increase comprehension of the core operating principles for biocultural action. We determine that biocultural studies adhered to the following principles: 1) honor IPLC place attachment; 2) rigorously engage with IPLC's; 3) valorize cultural survival and continuity; 4) invert power dynamics; and 5) cultivate new insights. Our results represent a one-of-a-kind diagnostic on the fulfillment of the Declaration of Belém's prescriptions in conservation scholarship and practice, as well as a roadmap for practicing scholars and policy-makers intent on guaranteeing IPLC environmental leadership. These newly forged resources further point the way toward understanding and operationalizing the biocultural perspective as a strategic vision.

Machine learning-based Sr isoscape of southern Sardinia: A tool for bio-geographic studies at the Phoenician-Punic site of Nora.

Since prehistoric times, the island of Sardinia-in the western Mediterranean-has played a leading role in the dynamics of human population and mobility, in the circulation of raw materials and artefacts, idioms and customs, of technologies and ideas that have enriched the biological, linguistic and cultural heritage of local groups. For the Phoenician and Punic periods (from the 9th to the 3rd centuries BCE), the ancient site of Nora-in southern Sardinia-represents an emblematic case in the study of migratory phenomena that occurred on the Island from the Iron Age until the Roman conquest. Despite the importance of exploring (and characterising) such movements from a wider bio-cultural perspective, the application of bio-geochemical tools for geographical provenance to the ancient skeletal populations of Sardinia is yet scarce. The present work is the first step towards filling this gap with the development of the first isoscape of southern Sardinia using new bioavailable Sr isotope data and a machine-learning approach. From a geolithological point of view, Sardinia is rather heterogeneous and requires detailed studies to correctly assess the distribution of the isotopic signature of bioavailable Sr. The random forest model employed here to construct the Sr isoscape uses several external environmental and geological variables. The most important predictors are related to age and bedrock type, with additional input from local soil properties. A 10-fold cross-validation gives a mean square error of 0.0008 and an R-squared of 0.81, so the model correctly predicts the 87Sr/86Sr ratio of unknown areas. By using a Bayesian provenance assignment workflow, we tested the isoscape here produced to determine the geographic origin and the mobility of archaeological and modern fauna collected from the Phoenician-Punic site of Nora and the surrounding Pula Plain. Our results indicate that archaeological sheep and goats (87Sr/86Sr < 0.7090) are compatible with areas close to Nora and Pula Plain, in agreement with archaeological evidence of pastoralism in those areas. Modern wild and domesticated fauna (87Sr/86Sr > 0.7090) show compatibility with several natural and anthropogenic locations in southern Sardinia, as expected based on modern species distribution data. Finally, we discuss the large Sr isotopic variability of the Nora baseline, where human mobility studies of human cremated and inhumed individuals are currently underway.

Osteological Evidence of Possible Tuberculosis from the Early Medieval Age (6th–11th Century), Northern Italy

We discuss the probable presence of tuberculosis in non-adults of a medieval rural community in northern Italy with a biocultural perspective. Before birth, mother and child have a closely interconnected relationship, as suggested by the role of microchimerism on maternal health. To better understand maternal–child health and related stress factors, paleopathology has investigated the potential of this relationship in recent years. Diseases with environmental development factors such as infections depend on and are strongly affected by maternal control variables such as, for example, breastfeeding and the growth environment. This article presents ISZ2, the second possible case of childhood tuberculosis identified in northeastern Italy through recent paleopathological criteria. The subject is of primary importance as it not only represents a direct testimony of this infectious disease otherwise known only from historical sources, but also increases our knowledge on the state of health of infants in this area, which to date are scarcely analyzed.

Water Needs, Water Insecurity, and Human Biology

Water links the environment, culture, and biology. An integrative approach is needed to attain a complete picture of how water affects human biology due to its inherent interdisciplinary nature. First, this review describes advances in human water needs, thirst, and hydration strategies from a biocultural perspective. Second, it provides a critical appraisal of the literatures on water insecurity (WI) experiences and coping strategies used to mitigate WI to illustrate how they intersect to affect human biology through the embodiment framework. Deviations from water needs and heightened WI can alter hydration and coping strategies, which have implications for a suite of psychological and physiological outcomes. These disruptions are embodied in cellular damage, dehydration, nutrition, stress, mental health, cognitive impairment, aging-related effects, cardiometabolic health, and kidney function. Disrupting forces such as lifestyle changes and climate change have important implications for water needs, WI, coping and hydration strategies, and the embodiment of each.

Probable micronutrient deficiency diseases in a rural community. The nonadults of Mary’s Nativity church, 16th century, Trentino Alto-Adige, Italy

We discuss, with a biocultural perspective, the connection between living condition related to the Great Peasants’ Revolt and health status of the nonadult population from the 16th century North-eastern Italy, with a particular focus on those caused by micronutrients C and D. We analysed forty-one skeletons of nonadults in primary deposition with macroscopic examination coupled with a literature review aimed at providing a differential diagnosis. Eleven nonadults present probable cases of rickets, twelve show evidence that seems to be related to scurvy, while ten individuals feature a pattern consistent with a co-occurrence condition. Finally, eight subjects have no pathological changes or evidence, and that may be considered strictly related to C or D deficiency.This study provides a significant example of pathological lesion on nonadults coming from the same area and framed in a limited chronological period. In addition, the sample is distinguished by the number of subjects and the good preservation of their bone tissue. Finally, the work is of primary importance as the Italian panorama lacks exhaustive paleopathological publications.

Parallel evolution in human populations: A biocultural perspective.

Parallel evolution-where different populations evolve similar traits in response to similar environments-has been a topic of growing interest to biologists and biological anthropologists for decades. Parallel evolution occurs in human populations thanks to myriad biological and cultural mechanisms that permit humans to survive and thrive in diverse environments worldwide. Because humans shape and are shaped by their environments, biocultural approaches that emphasize the interconnections between biology and culture are key to understanding parallel evolution in human populations as well as the nuances of human biological variation and adaptation. In this review, we discuss how biocultural theory has been and can be applied to studies of parallel evolution and adaptation more broadly. We illustrate this through four examples of parallel evolution in humans: malaria resistance, lactase persistence, cold tolerance, and high-altitude adaptation.

Embodying the Face: The Intersubjectivity of Portraits and Self-portraits

The topic of the human face is addressed from a biocultural perspective, focusing on the empirical investigation of how the face is represented, perceived, and evaluated in artistic portraits and self-portraits from the XVth to the XVIIth century. To do so, the crucial role played by the human face in social cognition is introduced, starting from development, showing that neonatal facial imitation and face-to-face dyadic interactions provide the grounding elements for the construction of intersubjective bonds. The neuroscience of face perception is concisely presented and discussed, together with the psychophysics of face perception and gaze exploration, introducing the notions of the left visual field advantage (LVFA) and the left gaze bias (LGB). The results of experiments on the perception and the emotional and aesthetic rating of artistic portraits and self-portraits are reported, showing that despite participants’ inability to tell self-portraits and portraits apart, greater emotional, communicative-social, and aesthetic ratings were attributed to self-portraits. It is concluded that neuroscience and experimental aesthetics can contribute to better understand the human face, hence to better understand ourselves.

Operationalizing the biocultural perspective in conservation practice: A systematic review of the literature

The term ‘biocultural’ brings together the words ‘biological’ and ‘cultural’ to emphasize the interconnected nature of life and human culture. Over the last 50 years, biological and cultural diversity have shown concomitant declines in abundance, leading researchers, policy makers, activists and Indigenous Peoples to increasingly turn towards biocultural theory for potential pathways forward. Amidst increasing conversations and uses of the term ‘biocultural’, we sought to interrogate the current state of knowledge within biocultural theory and to identify the various ways the term ‘biocultural’ is being applied in the academic literature on conservation. To explore this research question, we conducted a systematic review of the literature that has meaningfully engaged with biocultural theory between 2002 and 2019 to explore the most concrete and promising pathways forward for effective and ethical on-the-ground implementation. After tracing key definitions and the evolution of the term over time, we find that the word ‘biocultural’ is most commonly being applied in the realms of biocultural diversity, biocultural heritage, and biocultural approaches. After offering an overview of each of these areas, we conclude with three central findings. Firstly, we find that biocultural theory remains deeply rooted in seminal discussions around biocultural diversity. It is from this foundation that new areas of research and application have emerged in the last decade, including biocultural heritage, biocultural approaches to conservation, biocultural landscape and biocultural rights, amongst others. Secondly, biocultural theory retains strong roots in Indigenous rights and advocacy, which were originally articulated in the Declaration of Belem (1988) and continue to be evidenced by the large percentage of papers in our sample which focused on Indigenous perspectives related to biocultural diversity. Finally, we find that biocultural theory remains largely conceptual in nature, with indications that only in recent years have more applied, on-the-ground case studies started to emerge in the literature.

The Neural Basis of Human Fatherhood: A Unique Biocultural Perspective on Plasticity of Brain and Behavior.

With the growing involvement of fathers in childrearing and the application of neuroscientific tools to research on parenting, there is a need to understand how a father's brain and neurohormonal systems accommodate the transition to parenthood and how such neurobiological changes impact children's mental health, sociality, and family functioning. In this paper, we present a theoretical model on the human father's brain and the neural adaptations that take place when fathers assume an involved role. The neurobiology of fatherhood shows great variability across individuals, societies, and cultures and is shaped to a great extent by bottom-up caregiving experiences and the amount of childrearing responsibilities. Mechanisms of mother-father coparental brain coordination and hormonal correlates of paternal behavior are detailed. Adaptations in the father's brain during pregnancy and across the postpartum year carry long-term implications for children's emotion regulation, stress management, and symptom formation. We propose a new conceptual model of HEALthy Father Brain that describes how a father's brain serves as a source of resilience in the context of family adversity and its capacity to "heal", protect, and foster social brain maturation and functionality in family members via paternal sensitivity, attunement, and support, which, in turn, promote child development and healthy family functioning. Father's brain provides a unique model on neural plasticity as sustained by committed acts of caregiving, thereby affording a novel perspective on the brain basis of human affiliation.

What to conserve? Different contexts/different pretexts: three study cases in Argentina

Background: The starting point of this work is Alcorn’s definition of ethnobotany. For this reason, the author goes on to say that the ethnobotanical study object is a sort of text –sensu Ricoeur (1971 cited Alcorn 1995)- whose meaning is partially derived from the natural, social and cultural context. Following this perspective of conservation, the goal of this contribution is to analyse the significance of three tree taxa populations in three areas of Argentina. Methods: Ethnobotanical and historical ethnobotany methodology have been used. Results: The Quebrada peach (Prunus persica), early introduced to Jujuy province, assimilated into local crops and considered as part of local identity. Various citrus (Citrus spp.), also introduced early on by the Jesuits, and highly valued by the locals in Misiones, but rejected in the management of protected areas due to their wild-type and exotic nature-. The tala (Celtis tala), native to the Río de la Plata coastal area, where it lends its name to a particular forest formation, which is often overexploited, and is the focus for the establishment of protected areas. Conclusions: The perusal of these texts (tala, peaches and citrus) demonstrates that they are considered as a part of local identity or heritage no matter a long or short story and native or exotic origin. We also to contribute to the design of conservation strategies from a biocultural perspective. Keywords: Identitary species, Immaterial heritage, Introduction of plants, Landscape construction, Local practices, Perceptions, Qualitative ethnobotany.

Building an Ethnic Food Ethic: The Case of the Ngigua Indigenous People of Southern Puebla, Mexico.

Food ethics in the indigenous context is associated with a historical and profound relationship that indigenous groups have with nature. To address this relationship and identify the food uses associated with the maguey plant from a biocultural perspective among the Ngigua indigenous people living in the municipality of Tlacotepec de Benito Juárez in Puebla, the three main communities in the municipality of Tlacotepec de Benito Juárez that make use of the maguey plant were chosen. The study was carried out with a qualitative approach, using a semi-structured interview as a research technique. The analysis carried out recognises the importance of the maguey plant as a biocultural resource for the Ngigua in a context of ethical deliberation. Among the food uses associated with the maguey plant, the following are identified: pulque (a drink of pre-Hispanic origin) and red worm. Women play an important role, participating in 80% of the preparation of both foods. The cultural environment of the maguey is a way of life that, in the case of the Ngigua people, represents a strategic element for survival. In times of food crisis, the study shows how ethnic food strategies in a context of ethical deliberation can constitute an alternative for the design of food solutions in territories with food shortages.

The Historical Ecology of Game Species Introductions in Hawai‘i1

The historical ecology of an area can be best understood from a biocultural perspective in which human social systems and ecosystems are interrelated and interdependent. We utilized such a perspective to investigate the effects of socioeconomic, political, and cultural viewpoints on the intentional introduction of at least 91 game species to Hawai‘i over the past 230 years. Historical records of game species introductions and inter-island translocations were described in relation to historical events since European contact (1778). Changes in public opinion toward game shifted according to the prevailing cultural climate of the time, corresponding with historical periods that can be demarcated by five major political events: European contact (1778), the Kingdom of Hawai‘i (1819), the Territory of Hawai‘i (1898), the end of World War II (1945), and the Endangered Species Act (1973). In Hawai‘i, environmental management approaches have been integrated with changing cultural values, and the resultant game management policies have reflected shifting views of game species from valuable food sources to recreational sport to ecological nuisance. Such recognition of the interrelationship between politics, economics, and ecosystems allows us to better utilize past lessons to bring about future change by encouraging resource managers to consider cultural factors when formulating effective present and future ecological management goals.

Los derechos de la naturaleza en diálogo intercultural: una mirada a la jurisprudencia sobre los páramos andinos y los glaciares indios

Las montañas de los Andes y del Himalaya poseen características bioculturales en común, ya que son fuentes de agua en territorios biodiversos y albergan a miles de familias campesinas e indígenas; sin embargo, ambas se encuentran en situación de eminente peligro por el extractivismo a gran escala. De ahí que las altas Cortes de Ecuador, Colombia y La India se vieron obligadas a pronunciarse frente a la crisis ecológica y cultural a la que se enfrentan sus sistemas montañosos. Para esto, construyeron una argumentación pluralista basada en el reconocimiento de los derechos de la naturaleza. Con el enfoque del concepto de interculturalidad, se analizará críticamente la jurisprudencia de estos tres Estados biodiversos y fuertemente impactados por las actividades antropocéntricas. Además, esta investigación evidenciará la importancia de desarrollar el contenido de los derechos de la naturaleza y los derechos de participación comunitaria desde la perspectiva biocultural.&#x0D; Recibido: 08 abril 2020Aceptado: 02 octubre 2020

A joint medico-historical and paleopathological perspective on vitamin D deficiency prevalence in post-Medieval Netherlands

Objective: By applying a joint medico-historical and paleopathological perspective, this paper aims to improve our understanding of factors influencing past vitamin D deficiency in ten Dutch 17th to 19th-century communities of varying socioeconomic status and settlement type. Materials: Vitamin D deficiency is evaluated in 733 individuals of both sexes and all age groups: Silvolde (n = 16), Rotterdam (n = 23), Rhenen (n = 24), Noordwijkerhout (n = 27), Gouda1and 2 (n = 40; n = 59), Roosendaal (n = 51), Den Haag (n = 93), Hattem (n = 113), and Beemster (n = 287). Methods: Rickets and residual rickets are macroscopically assessed using established criteria. Hypotheses formulated based on medico-historical texts are investigated via multivariate statistical analysis of vitamin D deficiency prevalence. Results: Vitamin D deficiency prevalence ranges from 13.7 % (7/51) in Roosendaal to 48.1 % (13/27) in Noordwijkerhout, with an onset of < 4 years, and higher rates in cities, conforming to medico-historical texts. Patterns of child labor are likely key. In contrast, socioeconomic status did not statistically significantly influence vitamin D deficiency prevalence rates. Conclusion: Systematically collected paleopathological data enabled evaluation of medico-historical texts and provided insights into the role that socioeconomic status and settlement type played on the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. Significance: Combining medico-historical texts and large-scale paleopathological data enables disease patterning to be embedded in a comprehensive biocultural perspective. Limitations: Comparisons may be limited by the small sample size of high socioeconomic status nonadults and some of the collections. Suggestions for future research: Analysis of more individuals and sites would improve our understanding of disease patterns.

Sociocultural, behavioural and political factors shaping the COVID-19 pandemic: the need for a biocultural approach to understanding pandemics and (re)emerging pathogens

ABSTRACT Although there has been increasing focus in recent years on interdisciplinary approaches to health and disease, and in particular the dimension of social inequalities in epidemics, infectious diseases have been much less focused on. This is especially true in the area of cultural dynamics and their effects on pathogen behaviours, although there is evidence to suggest that this relationship is central to shaping our interactions with infectious disease agents on a variety of levels. This paper makes a case for a biocultural approach to pandemics such as COVID-19. It then uses this biocultural framework to examine the anthropogenic dynamics that influenced and continue to shape the COVID-19 pandemic, both during its initial phase and during critical intersections of the pandemic. Through this understanding of biocultural interactions between people, animals and pathogens, a broader societal and political dimension is drawn as a function of population level and international cultures, to reflect on the culturally mediated differential burden of the pandemic. Ultimately, it is argued that a biocultural perspective on infectious disease pandemics will allow for critical reflection on how culture shapes our behaviours at all levels, and how the effects of these behaviours are ultimately foundational to pathogen ecology and evolution.