The Ecology of Behavioral Transmission: Learning to Collect Wild Honey in South India

Research output: Contribution to conferencePresentation

Abstract

Local ecological knowledge produces positive returns to individuals via the cultural transmission of adaptive behaviors. Since social learning does not exist in a vacuum, locating behavioral transmission patterns in real-world settings informs our theory about salient human contexts such as cultural settings, individual heterogeneity in age and learning ability, and the complex interactions between learning strategies and local ecologies. I examine factors at the population- and individual-levels in a South Indian honey collecting tribe that are contributing to the persistence or loss of local knowledge over time. I will evaluate data from 196 individuals (aged 6 - 65 years) who participated in skills tests and interviews about local ecological knowledge related to collecting wild honey.

Original languageAmerican English
StatePublished - 26 Oct 2012
EventColloquium for Dartmouth Department of Anthropology, Asian and Middle-Eastern Studies Program and The Dickey Center for National Understanding -
Duration: 26 Oct 2012 → …

Conference

ConferenceColloquium for Dartmouth Department of Anthropology, Asian and Middle-Eastern Studies Program and The Dickey Center for National Understanding
Period26/10/12 → …

EGS Disciplines

  • Anthropology

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