Ethnobiology is the scientific study of dynamic relationships between peoples, biota, and environments, from the distant past to the immediate present.^[1]

"People-biota-environment" interactions around the world are documented and studied through time, across cultures, and across disciplines in a search for valid, reliable answers to two 'defining' questions: "How and in what ways do human societies use nature, and how and in what ways do human societies view nature?"^[2]

History[link]

Beginnings (15th century-19th century)[link]

Naturalists have been interested in local biological knowledge since the time Europeans started colonising the world, from the 15th century onwards.^[3]

16th Century English map of the world showing extent of western geographic knowledge at that time (1599)

Europeans not only sought to understand the new regions they intruded into but also were on the look-out for resources that they might profitably exploit, engaging in practices that today we should consider tantamount to biopiracy. Many new crops .. entered into Europe during this period, such as the potato, tomato, pumpkin, maize, and tobacco.^[3] (Page 121)

Local biological knowledge, collected and sampled over these early centuries significantly informed the early development of modern biology^[3]:

• during the 17th century Georg Eberhard Rumphius benefited from local biological knowledge in producing his catalogue, "Herbarium Amboinense", covering more than 1 200 species of the plants of Indonesia;
• during the 18th century, Carl Linnaeus relied upon Rumphius's work, and also corresponded with other people all around the world when developing the biological classification scheme that now underlies the arrangement of much of the accumulated knowledge of the biological sciences.
• during the 19th century, Charles Darwin, the 'father' of evolutionary theory, on his Voyage of the Beagle took interest in the local biological knowledge of peoples he encountered.

Phase I (1900s-1940s)[link]

Ethnobiology itself, as a distinctive practice, only emerged during the 20th century as part of the records then being made about other peoples, and other cultures. As a practice, it was nearly always ancillary to other pursuits when documenting others' languages, folklore, and natural resource use:

At it earliest and most rudimentary, this comprised listing the names and uses of plants and animals in native non-Western or 'traditional' populations often in the context of salvage ethnography ..[ie] ethno-biology as the descriptive biological knowledge of 'primitive' peoples.^[4]

This 'first phase' in the development of ethnobiology as a practice has been described as still having an essentially utilitarian purpose, often focusing on identifying those 'native' plants, animals and technologies of some potential use and value within increasingly dominant western economic systems^[4][5]

Phase II (1950s-1970s)[link]

Arising out of practices in Phase I (above) came a 'second phase' in the development of 'ethnobiology', with researchers now striving to better document and better understand how other peoples' themselves "conceptualise and categorise" the natural world around them.^[4]

By the mid-20th century .. utilitarian-focussed studies started to give way to more cognitively framed ones, notably studies that centred on elucidating classificatory schemes.^[3] (Page 122)

This 'second' phase is marked^[4]:

• in Northern America (mid 1950s) with Harold Conklin's completing his doctorate entitled "The relation of Hanunóo [1] culture to the plant world"^[6]
• in Britain (mid 1960s) with the publication of Claude Lévi-Strauss' book The Savage Mind^[7] legitimating "folk biological classification" as a worthy cross-cultural research endeavour
• in France (mid 1970s) with André-Georges Haudricourt's linguistic studies of botanical nomenclature^[8] and R. Porteres' and others work in economic biology.^[9]

Present (1980s-2000s)[link]

By the turn of the 20th century ethnobiological practices, research, and findings have had a significant impact and influence across a number of fields of biological inquiry including ecology,^[10] conservation biology,^[11] development studies,^[12] and political ecology.^[13]

The Society of Ethnobiology advises on its web page:

Ethnobiology is a rapidly growing field of research, gaining professional, student, and public interest .. internationally

Ethnobiology has come out from its place as an ancillary practice in the shadows of other core pursuits, to arise as a whole field of inquiry and research in its own right: taught within many tertiary institutions and educational programmes around the world;^[4] with its own methods manuals,^[14] its own readers,^[15] and its own textbooks^[16]

Subjects of Inquiry[link]

Usage[link]

All societies make use of the biological world in which they are situated, but there are wide differences in use, informed by perceived need, available technology, and the culture's sense of morality and sustainability.^{[citation needed]} 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.

Taxonomy[link]

Different societies divide the living world up in different ways. Ethnobiologists attempt to record the words used in particular cultures for living things, from the most specific terms (analogous to species names in Linnean biology) to more general terms (such as 'tree' and even more generally 'plant'). They also try to understand the overall structure or hierarchy of the classification system (if there is one; there is ongoing debate as to whether there must always be an implied hierarchy.^[17]

Cosmological, Moral and Spiritual Significance[link]

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 behind our physical experience?" Understanding these elements of a societies' perspective is important to cultural research in general, and ethnobiologists investigate how a societies' view of the natural world informs and is informed by them.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge[link]

In order to live effectively in a given place, a people needs to understand the particulars of their environment, and many traditional societies have complex and subtle understandings of the places in which they live.^{[citation needed]} Ethnobiologists seek to share in these understandings, subject to ethical concerns regarding intellectual property and cultural appropriation.

Cross cultural Ethnobiology[link]

In cross cultural ethnobiology research, two or more communities participate simulatenously. This enables the researcher to compare how a bio-resource is used by different communities ^[18].

Subdisciplines[link]

Ethnobotany[link]

Ethnobotany investigates the relationship between human societies and plants: how humans use plants- as food, technology, medicine, and in ritual contexts; how they view and understand them; and their symbolic and spiritual role in a culture.

Ethnozoology[link]

The subfield ethnozoology focuses on the relationship between animals and humans throughout human history. It studies human practices such as hunting, fishing and animal husbandry in space and time, and human perspectives about animals such as their place in the moral and spiritual realms.^{[citation needed]}

Ethnoecology[link]

Ethnoecology refers to an increasingly dominant 'ethnobiological' research paradigm focused, primarily, on documenting, describing, and understanding how other peoples perceive, manage, and use whole ecosystems.

Other Disciplines[link]

Studies and writings within ethnobiology involve and draw upon the research and researchers from across such disciplines and fields of knowledge as;^[1]

• archaeology,
• geography,
• linguistics,
• systematics,
• population biology,
• ecology,
• cultural anthropology,
• ethnography,
• pharmacology,
• nutrition,
• conservation, and
• sustainable development.

Ethics[link]

Through much of the history of ethnobiology, its practitioners were primarily from dominant cultures, and the benefit of their work often accrued to the dominant culture, with little control or benefit invested in the indigenous peoples whose practice and knowledge they recorded.

Just as many of those indigenous societies work to assert legitimate control over physical resources such as traditional lands or artistic and ritual objects, many work to assert legitimate control over their intellectual property.

In an age when the potential exists for large profits from the discovery of, for example, new food crops or medicinal plants, modern ethnobiologists must consider intellectual property rights, the need for informed consent, the potential for harm to informants, and their "debt to the societies in which they work".^[19]

Furthermore, these questions must be considered not only in light of western industrialized nations' common understanding of ethics and law, but also in light of the ethical and legal standards of the societies from which the ethnobiologist draws information.^[20]

See also[link]

• Biocultural diversity
• Cultural landscapes
• Darrell A. Posey
• Ethnobotany
• Historical ecology
• Declaration of Belem
• Traditional knowledge
• Hawaiian Ethnobiology
• Ethnoichthyology

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

• ALEXIADES, M.N. (1996) Selected guidelines for ethnobotanical research: a field manual. The New York Botanical Garden. New York.
• BALLEE, W (1998) (ed.) Advances in historical ecology. New York: Columbia University Press.
• BERLIN, Brent (1992) Ethnobiological Classification - Principles of Categorization of Plants and Animals in Traditional Societies. Princeton University Press, 1992.
• CASTETTER, E.F. (1944) "The domain of ethnobiology". The American Naturalist. Volume 78. Number 774. Pages 158-170.
• CONKLIN, H.C. (1954) The relation of Hanunóo culture to the plant world. Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University.
• COTTON, C.M (1996) Ethnobotany: principles and applications. John Wiley. London.
• CUNNINGHAM, A.B (2001) Applied ethnobotany: people, wild plant use and conservation. Earthscan. London
• DODSON, Michael (2007). "Report of the Secretariat on Indigenous traditional knowledge" (PDF). Report to the United Nation's Economic and Social Council's Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Sixth Session, New York, 14–25 May. United Nation's Economic and Social Council. New York. http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/6_session_dodson.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-28. 
• ELLEN, Roy (1993) The Cultural Relations of Classification, an Analysis of Nuaulu Animal Categories from Central Seram. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• ELLEN, Roy (2006). "Introduction" (PDF). Special Edition of the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. S1-S22. http://www.kent.ac.uk/anthropology/files/jrai_270.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-21. 
• HARRINGTON, J.P (1947) "Ethnobiology". Acta Americana. Number 5. Pages 244-247
• HAUDRICOURT, Andre-Georges (1973) "Botanical nomenclature and its translation." In M. Teich & R Young (Eds) Changing perspectives in the history of science: Essays in honour of Joseph Needham Heinemann. London. Pages 265-273.
• JOHANNES, R.E (Ed)(1989) Traditional ecological knowledge. IUCN, The World Conservation Union. Cambridge
• LAIRD, S.A. (Ed) (2002) Biodiversity and traditional knowledge: equitable partnerships in practice. Earthscan. London.
• LEVI-STRAUSS, Claude (1966). The savage mind. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. London.
• MARTIN, G.J (1995) Ethnobotany: a methods manual. Chapman & Hall. London.
• MINNIS, P (Ed) (2000) Ethnobotany: a reader. University of Oklahoma Press. Norman.
• PLOTKIN, M.J (1995) "The importance of ethnobotany for tropical forest conservation." in R.E. Schultes & Siri von Reis (Eds) Ethnobotany: evolution of a discipline (eds) Chapman & Hall. London. Pages 147-156.
• PORTERES, R. (1977)."Ethnobotanique." Encyclopaedia Universalis Organum Number 17. Pages 326-330.
• POSEY, D.A & W. L. Overal (Eds.), 1990) Ethnobiology: Implications and Applications. Proceedings of the First International Congress of Ethnobiology. Belém: Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi.
• POSEY, D. A. (Ed.), (1999) Cultural and Spiritual Values of Biodiversity. London: United Nations Environmental Programme & Intermediate Technology Publications.
• SCHULTES, R.E. & VON REIS, S (1995) (Eds) Ethnobotany: evolution of a discipline (eds) Chapman & Hall. London. Part 6.
• SILLITOE, Paul (2006) "Ethnobiology and applied anthropology: rapprochement of the academic with the practical". Special Edition of the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute S119-S142
• STEVENSON, M.C. (1914) "Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians." Bureau of American Ethnology Annual Report. Volume 30. Number 31102, Government Printing Office. Washington, D.C.
• TUXILL, J & NABHAN, G.P (2001) People, plants and protected area. Earthscan. London.
• WARREN, D.M; SLIKKERVEER, L; & BROKENSHA, D. (Eds) (1995) The cultural dimension of development: indigenous knowledge systems. Intermediate Technology Publications. London.
• ZERNER, C (Ed) (2000) People, plants and justice: the politics of nature conservation. Columbia University Press. New York.
• Balancing Act Research and Education (B.A.R.E.) (1996) Ecosystem Management Director and Ethnobotanist Lyncho Ruiz

Participatory ethnobotanical lab and field research station to encourage the involvement of local youth in detailed nutrition methodological propagation and restoration of local threatened species. Will provide a unique opportunity to further its goal of protecting our natural heritage.

External links[link]

• Biology on-line "Ethnobiology" articles
• Ethnobiology — Traditional Biological Knowledge in Contemporary Global Context. (Athabasca University Course Resource List)
• International Society of Ethnobiology
• Journal of Ethnobiology
• Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
• Society of Ethnobiology

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007)

Gene Anderson (1933^[1] – October 31, 1991) was an American professional wrestler best known for teaming with his (kayfabe) brother Ole Anderson.

Career[link]

Anderson was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota and started wrestling in 1961 after being trained by Verne Gagne. In late 1965, he formed the Minnesota Wrecking Crew with fellow collegian Lars Anderson as his "brother". They wrestled in the Florida territories and won some tag team titles together.

Gene then reformed the tag team with his "brother" (another fellow collegian) Ole Anderson in 1969 after Lars left. They became one of the most successful heel tag teams in the history of professional wrestling. They dominated the Southeastern tag team scene until Gene retired to become a manager in 1981.

Gene and Ole would hold tryouts for prospective wrestlers during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Al Snow is one who trained under them, being subjected to an exhaustive exercise routine followed by being stretched in the ring by Ole.^[2]

When Gene quit wrestling, he became a heel manager for a few years, before retiring from wrestling in 1984. During his career, he managed Ivan Koloff, Ray Stevens and Jimmy Snuka.^[3]

After retiring, Gene became a Deputy Sheriff in North Carolina but died of a sudden heart attack on October 31, 1991.^[4]

Gene's son, Brad Anderson, is also a professional wrestler and still competes on the independent circuit.^[5]

In wrestling[link]

• Managers
  • Oliver Humperdink^[6][7]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Georgia Championship Wrestling

• NWA Georgia Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Lars Anderson ^[8]
• NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (7 times) - with Ole Anderson^[9]
• NWA Georgia Television Championship (1 time)^[10]
• NWA Macon Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ole Anderson
• NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (Georgia version) (1 time) - with Ole Anderson^[11]
• NWA World Tag Team Championship (Georgia Version) (1 time) - with Lars Anderson

• Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling

• NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Ole Anderson
• NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Ole Anderson ^[12]
• NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (7 times) - with Ole Anderson

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI Tag Team of the Year (1975, 1977) with Ole Anderson
• PWI ranked him # 60 of the 100 best tag teams during the "PWI Years" with Ivan Koloff in 2003 .

References[link]

Professional wrestling portal

Nancy Jean Turner (born 1947) is a notable North American ethnobiologist, originally qualified in botany, who has done extensive research work with the indigenous peoples of British Columbia, the results of which she has documented in a number of books and numerous articles.

She describes herself and her own work as follows^[1]

"My speciality is ethnobotany .. Much of my work is field-oriented, interviewing knowledgeable elders of Aboriginal communities in many parts of British Columbia, to document traditional uses, names, and perceptions of plants. Analyzing these data and comparing information from different regions and cultural groups has been a major focus of my research."

Order of British Columbia[link]

The Government of British Columbia have admitted Nancy Turner to the Order of British Columbia and, in doing so, describe her, her work, and her contributions as follows^[2]

"Nancy J. Turner .. is an internationally-distinguished scholar and scientist who has devoted her life to documenting the endangered knowledge of First Nations. As a pioneer in ethnobiology, her more than 25 years of research have focused on the diverse interactions of First Peoples in British Columbia with the ecosystems they depended on and the critical role of plant resources for foods, medicines and materials. Her research will be seen as a most valuable compendium of aboriginal culture and plant lore in British Columbia."

Brief Bibliography of Works[link]

Books written[link]

• Turner, Nancy J. (1995). Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples. Royal British Columbia Museum Handbook series. UBC Press. ISBN 0-7726-5627-4. 

• Turner, Nancy J. (1997). Food Plants of Interior First Peoples. Royal British Columbia Museum Handbook series. UBC Press. ISBN 978-0-7726-5846-3. 

• Turner, Nancy J. (1998). Plant Technology of First Peoples in British Columbia.. Royal British Columbia Museum Handbook series. UBC Press. ISBN 0-7718-8117-7. 

• Turner, Nancy J. (2005). Plants of Haida Gwaii. Winlaw, B.C: Sono Nis Press. ISBN 1-55039-144-5. 

• Turner, Nancy J. (2005). The Earth's Blanket, Traditional Teachings for Sustainable Living.. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre. ISBN 1-55365-081-6. 

Books edited[link]

• Deur, Douglas & Turner, Nancy J. (eds.) (2005) Keeping It Living, Traditions of Plant Use and Cultivation on the Northwest Coast of North America. Vancouver: UBC Press and Seattle: University of Washington Press.

Articles on-line[link]

• Hunn, Eugene S; Turner, Nancy J; French, David H. "Ethnobiology and Subsistence" (PDF). http://faculty.washington.edu/hunn/vitae/Plateau_subsistence_HNAI.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-24 

• Turner, Nancy. "Keeping it Living: Applications and Relevance of Traditional Plant Management in British Columbia to Sustainable Harvesting of Non-timber Forest Products" (PDF). http://www.ncrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/gtr/other/gtr%E2%88%92nc217/gtr_nc217page%20066.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-24 .

Distinctions[link]

• R.E. Schultes Award (1997)^[3]

• Order of British Columbia (1999)^[2]

• Canadian Botanical Association’s Lawson Medal (2002)^[3]

• Killam Research Fellowship (2007)^[3]

• William L. Brown Award for Excellence in Genetic Resource Conservation (2008)^[4]

External links[link]

• [1]
• University of Victoria staff page
• [2]
• [3]
• [4]
• [5]

References[link]

1. ^ University of British Columbia's Department of Botany webpage Retrieved 23 April 2008
2. ^ ^{a b} 1999 Recipient: Nancy J. Turner – Victoria | Order of BC Retrieved 24 April 2008
3. ^ ^{a b c} University of Victoria Media Release Retrieved 27 April 2008
4. ^ William L Brown Centre for Plant Genetic Resources website Accessed 27 April 2008

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