Biocultural Approach Research Articles

Advances in Biocultural Approaches to Understanding Stress in Humans

Advances in Biocultural Approaches to Understanding Stress in Humans

Cultural keystone species and their role in biocultural conservation

AbstractBiocultural diversity is declining globally. Cultural keystone species (CKS) are one promising pathway by which biocultural approaches to conservation, which seek to protect both biological and cultural diversity, might be implemented in practice. We traced the evolution of the CKS concept in relation to Indigenous Peoples in the Canadian context through a scoping review of the literature from 2000 to 2021 and nine in‐depth interviews with Indigenous Guardians and knowledge holders. Emergent themes in this scoping review indicate that CKS, rather than being viewed as objects for conservation, can be understood as ongoing relationship(s) between the cultural and ecological, which are intimately tied to language, knowledge, practices, and places in ways that are deeply interconnected. One cannot protect CKS, therefore, without also protecting the relationships that people (or groups of people) have to that species. We conclude by recommending further investment in policies and programs that support enabling mechanisms for Indigenous Peoples to maintain, manage, and restore relationships with CKS.

Vitamin D deficiency, pregnancy, and childbirth in early medieval Milan

This paper explores the burden of osteomalacia on pregnancy and childbirth through two cases from early medieval urban Milan. Two skeletons of female individuals with skeletal deformities and associated with 25–36 gestational weeks fetuses, excavated from the Ad Martyres and San Vittore al Corpo urban cemeteries and dated to the Early Middle Ages, were examined. Paleopathological and historical analyses were performed in a biocultural approach to investigate the impact of clinical complications and skeletal deformities on their daily life, the course of their pregnancy, and childbirth. The women showed severe skeletal deformities attributable to osteomalacia including scoliosis, reduced rib-neck angle, coxavara, severe bending of the pelvic bones, protrusio acetabuli, and narrowed pelvic outlet. The condition and its biomechanical complications impacted the health of both mothers and fetuses, the quality of life of the women (i.e., gait alteration, difficult and limited mobility, compression of internal organs), as well as pregnancy outcomes. It is possible that both the mothers and fetuses died due to childbirth complications. Bioarchaeological cases of osteomalacia, pregnancy, and death during childbirth are excessively rare. This paper also provides insight into how maternal experiences and biocultural environments in early medieval Milan impacted childbirth outcome. The study of the Ad Martyres and San Vittore al Corpo necropolises is still ongoing and could provide further insight. Isotopic and paleogenomic analyses may shed more light into the factors that led to vitamin D deficiency in these women.

Identification of Social Status through Grave Goods Using a Biocultural Approach in Interpreting the Alpine Context of Borca Di Cadore, Belluno, Veneto, Italy (18th–19th Centuries)

The cemetery of the Church of Santi Simone e Giuda in Borca di Cadore (Belluno province, Veneto region, Italy) was excavated between 2021 and 2023 as part of an archaeological intervention. The excavation area yielded a total of 21 graves dating back to the 18th–19th century; this was intriguing due to the presence of grave goods and taphonomic indicators that allowed these burials to be interpreted as clothed burials. This contribution examines 14 of the 21 graves, representing the available sample considering preservation conditions. Fieldwork was carried out through close synergy between archaeological and anthropological methodologies, involving careful excavation to verify funerary rituals through taphonomic data analysis. Anthropological methods were applied to determine the biological profile of the individuals, while aspects related to their health status were investigated through paleopathological analyses. Data obtained from field and laboratory observations were cross-referenced with historical and anthropological-cultural data from bibliographic and archival research. Reconstructing the social status of the deceased within the burial context is crucial for understanding the social and cultural dynamics of past populations, achievable only through a biocultural approach integrating information from archaeology, cultural anthropology, and bioarchaeology. Modern burial contexts offer privileged realities due to abundant historical and anthropological-cultural documentation, allowing for a more precise contextualization of bioarchaeological findings with significant support from documentary sources. Studies applied to these periods closer to the present enable the continuous refinement of an investigative method attentive to the synergy of different aspects of biocultural research, enhancing the importance of this approach in reconstructing the life histories of populations.

Meitei Agroecology: nurturing sustainable food systems and cultural conservation in North-East India

ABSTRACT This study explores the intricate link between agroecology and sustainable food systems, centering on Meitei society in biodiverse Manipur, North-east India. Utilizing mixed methods, including interviews and surveys, we investigate how Meitei foodways, deeply rooted in cultural customs, preserve plant diversity. Our findings reveal the incorporation of 43 plant species into Meitei socio-cultural practices, enriching local gastronomy and presenting potential for gastronomy tourism. Traditional festivals emphasize the fusion of local ecological knowledge into Meitei cuisine, underscoring cultural heritage’s role in biodiversity conservation. Identifying seven key rituals, our research underscores the value of biocultural approaches, guiding sustainable interventions to maintain a delicate balance between human communities and the natural world.

Disentangling gender and social difference for just and transformative biocultural approaches

Abstract Advancing research and practice that recognize diverse worldviews, knowledge systems, and value orientations is essential to enable transformative change towards sustainability. Biocultural approaches recognize the diverse ways in which people relate to nature, offering a potential pathway for sustainability transformations. However, recent scholarship on biocultural approaches to sustainability has highlighted that social aspects such as equity and justice have not been substantively addressed, whereby gender issues have been overlooked to a great extent. Through qualitative content analysis, this review synthesizes the conceptualizations of gender and social difference within the literature on biocultural approaches to sustainability published in English and Spanish. The biocultural literature predominantly focuses on describing knowledge and management practices, neglecting power and gender relations that affect access and control over resources, and how different axes of social difference matter across different social‐ecological contexts. Overall, we found that gender considerations within the literature reviewed do not build upon feminist and gender theories. Based on these findings, we provide insights into how more nuanced engagements, especially in relation to feminist theories and tools as intersectionality and decolonial perspectives, can allow for more just scholarly efforts to address biocultural relations. Finally, we draw attention to responsible and engaged praxis towards promoting biocultural approaches that include the diverse perspectives of those who can contribute to transformative change, and which prevent the reinforcement of gender‐based power relations. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

The incremental transformation of the body through freediving: A biocultural approach to reflexive bodily practices

AbstractExpert freediving explores the limits of human endurance, with some divers staying underwater for over 10 min or reaching crushing depths on a single breath. This article explores the enskilment process, especially how freediving training involves a suite of reflexive bodily practices with psychological, neurological, and physiological consequences. Examined closely and over time, skill acquisition is a multi‐dimensional process involving self‐driven adaptations in a cumulative, uneven manner. Because skills combine biological, cultural, and psychological mechanisms, practices are ideal for biocultural analysis in psychological anthropology. This account of the behavioral‐development spiral in freediving enskilment suggests that transformative practices are inherently developmental, with neurological consequences. Theories of practice that ignore the temporal dimension or the variability of skill acquisition, that is, accounts that erase the slow and uncertain accumulation of expertise, fundamentally misrepresent how persistent practice blends biology and culture, and causes transformation, as well as the usefulness of ethnography for studying these processes.

Using historical biocultural variables and skeletal pathology to assist with osteoprofiles

The biocultural approach uses biological, environmental, and cultural variables to help identify where an individual spent their childhood or their adult life. When a skeleton is identified DNA may not be sufficient in identification and complete osteoprofiles are needed. This research examines historic skeletal, genealogical, and biocultural information to determine if there is a correlation with the presence of vitamin D deficiency or spinal pathology. One hundred seventy-seven individuals living between the 1830s and 1940s were analyzed and traced through the historical record. Preliminary results indicate that there were trends in determining where an individual spent their childhood and the likelihood of vitamin D deficiency (chi-square p = 0.006; Spearman RS 0.92, p = -0.008), year of death (chi-square 0.005; Spearman RS 0.87, p = -0.01), presence of spinal pathology (chi-square p = 0.05; Spearman RS 0.72, p = -0.03), and trending toward age (p = 0.08). More research is warranted but completing osteoprofiles using biocultural variables may help identify where someone is from and how they lived their lives which in turn will assist with identification.

Biocultural Conservation-based Narrative Text: An Effort to Enhance Conservation Literacy of the Local Community in the Sanctuary Area

This study is part of the Faculty of Languages and Arts’ second-year research project in partnership with International Animal Rescue (IAR). The major goal was to raise conservation awareness among the local people dwelling in the sanctuary region of Pematang Gadung Village, Ketapang Regency, West Borneo, to tackle environmental challenges such as illegal logging, poaching, and illegal mining. The research and development process were divided into three stages based on the Successive Approximation Model (SAM): preparation, iterative design, and iterative development. This work focuses primarily on the iterative design phase, expanding on the findings of the research completed in the first year when the local people perceived forest as commodities due to their lack of conservation literacy. Their biocultural conservation, on the other hand, was profoundly based on their indigenous, Muslim Malay ethnic beliefs and traditions. This study aims to construct a biocultural conservation-based narrative text as a first step toward generating conservation material that resonates with the community’s local wisdom using a biocultural approach.
 Keywords: conservation literacy, biocultural conservation approach, SAM, REB, local community of Pematang Gadung Village

Moving, Thinking, and Representing the Autistic Mind/Body

Abstract When released, the Korean drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo (ENA, 2022), chronicling the adventures of Woo Young-woo, an autistic lawyer played by neurotypical actor Park Eun-bin, quickly became a global hit. Its positive representations of disability, spotlighting the discrimination faced by autistic individuals, was widely heralded as departing from previously negative stereotypes. Amid a global move toward inclusion driven by the disability rights movement, we undertake a biocultural approach to analyze representations of the embodied (autistic) mind/body in Extraordinary Attorney Woo. We consider how neuroscientific research has evolved and the implications of this evolution for representations of autism. We argue that deep-rooted stereotypes about autism continue to influence progressive media representations of disability and that a deeper acknowledgment of those stereotypes is needed to achieve equitable and sensitive representation.

“Bats are part of us”: The role of bats in shaping community identity in Watansoppeng city, Indonesia

The study of the relationship between biotic elements and communities within the literature of urban identity in the context of urban planning and design is presently constrained. This research aimed to elucidate the role of biotic elements in community identity through an investigation into the case of bats in the city center. Various data collection methods were employed, encompassing documentation (including the scrutiny of texts and images), observation, and interviews. The research concentrated on the city of Watansoppeng, Indonesia, conducting semi-informal interviews with purposively selected residents, such as cultural leaders, academics, and officials from pertinent institutions. The research variables comprised history, collective memory, and culture, and the analysis adopted a biocultural approach. Digital qualitative analysis was conducted using Atlas.ti 23 software. The findings underscored the significant role played by bats in shaping community identity in Watansoppeng. These nocturnal creatures contribute substantially to the development of the community's historical narrative across generations, including the emergence of myths associating them with signaling impending disasters in the city. Moreover, bats function as custodians of the collective memory of the community, serving as reminders of the glory of the Soppeng Kingdom and the greatness of their First King. The interaction between bats and the community is also reflected in various cultural expressions, spanning language and linguistics, literature, cultural materials, science and technology, economic relations, social interactions, and belief systems.

Human-beaver cohabitation in the Early and Mid-Holocene of Northern Europe: Re-visiting Mesolithic material culture and ecology through a multispecies lens

The Eurasian beaver ( Castor fiber) was an important member of Early and Mid-Holocene landscapes and animal communities in Northern Europe. Previous zooarchaeological research has established the alimentary roles of beavers for Mesolithic societies and their importance for fur procurement. In this paper, we develop an integrated biocultural approach to human-beaver interactions, examining the position of humans and beavers in Mesolithic and Early Neolithic multispecies systems. We contextualize beaver landscape agency in hydroactive environments with human behaviour, synthesizing currently available data on mammalian assemblages, ichtyofauna and beaver-related material culture across Northern Europe. This cross-cultural, diachronic analysis reveals previously overlooked facilitations of human behaviour by beaver practices and ecological legacies. We show that long-term trajectories of human-beaver cohabitation differed between northern European regions. While in Southern Scandinavia, human-beaver intersections witnessed major re-organizations during the Mid-Holocene, beavers retained a key role for human societies across Northeastern Europe throughout much of the Holocene and played an important part at the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the Dutch wetlands. Divergent pathways are also evidenced by Mesolithic beaver-related material culture, highlighting the cultural keystone status of Castor fiber in higher latitude European landscapes. We argue that this keystone status is grounded in the supply of human hunting, fishing, and gathering affordances by the animals, pointing to the generative commensality between Mesolithic foragers and their beaver neighbours. Taken together, our findings demonstrate the importance of the beaver in the making of Early and Mid-Holocene forager societies in Northern Europe and illustrate the fruitfulness of deploying an integrated multispecies approach.

Interpersonal violence in colonial era in Papua, Indonesia: A case study of trauma patterns of a Biak individual

AbstractIn many world regions, conflict resulting from power struggles can lead to interpersonal violence. In the recent colonial past, tribes in Papua and Papua New Guinea engaged in war and raiding that resulted in interpersonal violence, abduction, slavery, and casualties. This case study focuses on the analysis of a colonial period individual from Biak Island, Papua, Indonesia, using a biocultural approach. Only the cranium was available for analysis. Standard osteological methods were used to determine that the individual was likely a young to mid‐aged (26‐ to 42‐year‐old) adult female. Skeletal lesion type and patterning were observed macroscopically with digital photography and a newly developed ultraviolet light photography technique. Multiple sharp force trauma injuries were identified on the frontal, temporal, and occipital bones of the cranium. Interpreting the pattern of trauma within the context of the colonial period in Papua, it is suggested that this female individual may have been murdered, possibly as a slave taken during tribal warfare. This report is a significant resource for future bioarchaeological studies in Papua as it provides one of the only accounts of skeletal trauma during the colonial period in the region.

The ‘biocultural approach’ in Latin American ethnobiology

Contemporary ethnobiologists employ the biocultural approach to different contexts and countries, and they seek to describe the relationship between biological and cultural diversity. For Latin American researchers, this approach is particularly interesting from a critical standpoint. We offer a review of the concept of “biocultural”, departing from Mexican ethnobiologist contributions. Later, we analyze different uses of this concept in several regional meetings, including the SOLAE Congress of 2015 in Colombia, the SOLAE Congress of 2017 in Ecuador, and the SOLAE Congress of 2019 in Bolivia. Likewise, we reflect on the 2018 congress at Belém do Pará, Brazil, which commemorated the creation of the ISE there thirty years earlier. We argue that the importance of the biocultural approach becomes influential insofar as non-academic and academic people meet and promote Latin American discussion in terms of local realities.

Restoring fire‐degraded social forests via biocultural approaches: a key strategy to safeguard the Amazon legacy

Wildfires have emerged as an escalating source of tropical forest degradation with a cascade of negative consequences for the sustainable development of tropical regions. This is particularly the case in the Amazon forest region as wildfires have already degraded a considerable extension of both secondary and old‐growth forests, including “social forests” managed by traditional communities into protected areas. Here, we advocate in favor of a neglected perspective recognizing wildfires as an escalating threat of unanticipated but certainly devasting impacts on social forests, communal territories, the social reproduction of local/traditional forest‐based communities, and the network of protected areas devoted to safeguard the Amazon forest legacy, including ecosystem services of global relevance such as climate regulation. In response to this prognosis, we call for a research agenda focused on fire drivers, impacts, management, and mitigation, including the establishment of biocultural restoration initiatives/pilot programs in communal territories. Initiatives should integrate co‐produced goals, approaches, and technology to economically, socially, and politically empower those stakeholders with an effective interest in forest persistence although they are already vulnerable. Finally, we propose a governance model connecting key stakeholders to scale up fire‐related biocultural restoration in the Amazon region with the potential to produce timely and globally relevant knowledge and lessons. We hope our ideas stimulate key stakeholders to promote biocultural initiatives able to guarantee the emergence of sustainable territories and thus safeguard the climate‐buffering Amazon forest and its legacy for the sake of both local and global society.

The Missing and the Marginalized: A Biocultural Approach to Forensic Anthropology at the US/Mexico Border

Violence and trauma are nestled in human rights violations worldwide. Since the 1980s, several international and domestic organizations have formed to conduct investigations following instances of political unrest and sociocultural violence. These inhumane events are evidenced by structural violence, an invisible trauma that exacerbates societal discrepancies within a population and can manifest harm to marginalized groups. Structural violence can be observed in both living individuals and through the treatment of human remains. Individuals who are missing or remain unidentified from violent outbreaks are often from marginalized groups. Therefore, a biocultural approach is necessary as it emphasizes the interplay between biology, environment, and culture. Recent work on human rights violations in the Americas has focused on fatalities due to increased migration at the US/Mexico border. Multiple organizations from the United States and other countries have developed strategies to assist in the recovery, identification, and repatriation of migrants. We aim to highlight the biocultural approach in these humanitarian actions, especially the practice of forensic anthropology, with structural violence and humanitarian identification efforts related to the missing and unidentified persons found along the US/Mexico border.

In memoriam: Eleanor Jane Sterling (1960–2023)

In memoriam: Eleanor Jane Sterling (1960–2023)

An integral approach to environmental restoration in the face of climate change, cultural identity, and archaeological heritage: the case of Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán, México

[Introduction]: Conservation and restoration of the ecological and cultural heritage is a necessity given the current environmental crisis, in particular when considering the effects of climate change. This can be achieved through interdisciplinary research that allows the creation of strategies for restoring complex biocultural landscapes. [Objective]: To propose strategies for ecocentric, biocultural and productive ecological restoration in Tzintzuntzan (place of hummningbirds) a landscape dominated by precolumbian archaeological remains in the riverbanks of lake Paztcuaro, México, considering the expected effects of climate change. [Metodology]: A GIS was created with information about gthe socioenvironmental conditions of the study site, a climate change model was also elaborated for year 2050 and the loss of water lake water level was estimated. [Resultados]: From the present conditions of the vegetation, climatic modelling and the presence of archaeological remains we obtained that for the year 2050 most of the area (89%) of forests dominated by oaks and pines will have a climate appropriate for dry tropical vegetation. Considering the distribution of archaeological remains and the urban area we propose ecocentric, biocultural and production restoration strategies. [Conclusions]: A biocultural approach to restoration is desirable because it allows the recovery of ecological and cultural elements of the socioecosystem, with a emphasis in adaptation to climate change and the recovery of hummingbird habitat, being the hummingbirds the most important link between nature and culture in the region.

Armillaria mellea (Vahl. : Fr.) P. Kumm. a non-timber forest resource in the Ñhöñho culture: promoting sustainable development and ethnomycotourism

Background. The indigenous and mestizo communities in Mexico have used Armillaria mellea as a non-timber forest resource, mainly as food; ecologically it is an abundant species in forests. For this reason, we establish A. mellea as a species with cultural importance and a high potential for the development of sustainable regional and ethnomycotourism projects. Methods. The field work was carried out in the Ñhöñho communities of Texquedó and Xahai, Querétaro; Mexico. Semi-structured surveys were applied to local specialists in collecting mushrooms. Species were identified at the taxonomic level. Participation-action workshops were held for the organization and development of ethnomycotourism events. Results. A total biomass of 107.11 kg of A. mellea was collected with the support of the “hongueros” (local mushroom collectors) during the rainy seasons of 2017, 2018 and 2019. A greenhouse-type solar dehydrator was designed to process the mushrooms with a minimum dehydration capacity of 30 and a maximum of 100 kg of fresh mushrooms; and value-added products were designed with edible wild mushrooms. On the other hand, tours and mushroom collections (edible and inedible) were designed with local specialists, academics and visitors; promoting and laying the foundations for the development of ethnomycotourism with an approximate economic income per year in each community of 700 to 1200 dollars. Finally, as a result of this project, the non-profit civil organization; Ethnomycology, Research and Community Development A.C. Conclusion. Mushrooms constitute the basis for the planning of regional sustainable projects, as means of revaluing traditional systems, and strengthening the local economy, as well as conservation and management under a biocultural approach. Keywords. Mycotourism, Ethnomycotourism, Value-added products, Edible wild mushrooms, Otomí, Mexico

SCREENING POLE OF GREEN FOREST CHICKEN (Gallus varius) AND ITS POTENTIAL AS A TEACHING SOURCE OF BIOCULTURAL DIVERSITY: A CASE STUDY IN BUKIT DEMULIH BANGLI INDIGENOUS FOREST AREA

Green jungle fowl (Gallus varius) is widespread in nature and community forests. This study aims to identify distribution patterns, habitat profiles, and the potential of green jungle fowl (GJF) as a source of biological learning based on a biocultural approach (biodiversity, cultural diversity, and language diversity). The case study was used for extensive bird exploration in a customary forest, Hutan Adat Bukit Demulih Bangli (HABD), from February to June 2022. Data on distribution patterns were collected with a combination of free-range, line transect, and point-count techniques and habitat profiles with physiognomy methodology. Meanwhile, document analysis and the concept map were used to demonstrate the potential of the GJF in HABD as a source of learning. The results revealed that GJF was unequally distributed, with a population at each observation point ranging from 2 to 10. The bird prefers forested areas dominated by shrubs with several trees and, therefore, has an open canopy that allows sunlight to reach the forested floor. Local knowledge and practices in the preservation of GJF and HABD are excellent resources for learning various biological materials and concepts in the context of biodiversity, culture, and language.