Biocultural key species: an assembly of biotic resources with biocultural importance

Background The cultural importance assigned to biodiversity is a complex subject, its study has been developed from ethnobotany and ethnomicology, mainly. A new proposal to address cultural importance is from the biocultural key species. Therefore, integrating information on the knowledge and use of various biological groups, the species with the greatest cultural relevance were selected. Methods An index (BKSI: Biocultural Key Species Index) was integrated, which assesses the relevance based on general attributes associated with fauna, flora and funga. The study was carried out in the Náhuatl community called El Barco, Lolotla; in the Huastec Hidalguense region. Field work was carried out for two years (2018–2019) with 24 field trips. Percentage ethnographic method combined with snowball (10% of the population) were applied; and as the ethnographic tool multiple free listings (n = 50) were used. Results In total of 335 species associated to 537 traditional names in Spanish and indigenous language (Náhuatl) are reported, that belongs to different biological groups (fungi and plants; fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals). The biocultural relevance degree was categorized respect to the obtained value in the index (BKSI); a representative set of each biological group was selected, being those with the highest biocultural relevance. Conclusions It is proposed that these species constitute a useful tool in the application of programs that promote the conservation of diversity from a biocultural approach; they may even promote the proper use of resources or biological restoration.

Biocultural aspects of mental distress: Expanding the biomedical model towards an integrative biopsychosocial understanding of disorder

Objective: To produce a theoretical approach about the relations between neuroscience and psychopathology that expands beyond the biomedical model to include a non-reductionist, enactive, and biocultural perspective. Method: An integrative review, drawing from the biocultural approach from Anthropology, is used to produce examples from epigenetics, neuroplasticity, and functional neuroanatomy. Results and conclusion: A biocultural approach points to a brain that is highly plastic, reinforcing a much more complex model in which biological vulnerabilities and the historical-cultural environment co-construct each other. The examples given seem to point to the pressing need for a critical expansion of reductionist models of psychopathology. Importantly, the cultural-historical environment to which we refer is not a set of neutral social relations to which individuals are homogeneously exposed, such that aspects that are usually studied under the social determinants of health and disease (poverty, discrimination, violence, and other factors that represent sources of control, production, and distribution of material resources, ideology, and power) need to be incorporated in adequate biopsychosocial models of mental distress.

Deny None of It: A Biocultural Reading of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has predominantly been read as a critique of patriarchy, a feminist dystopia. This article amends the feminist analysis by applying a biocultural approach to the novel, taking as its point of departure three problems that have troubled the feminist reading: Offred’s perceived passivity, the novel’s subtly critical stance towards its feminist characters, and the open ending. By taking into account the environmental context-a fertility crisis-the biocultural reading is able to analyze char­acter in terms of survival and reproductive strategies. Recognizing that the characters are negotiating male and female mating strategies under extreme conditions leads to a deeper comprehension of the way the contrasting philosophies of radical feminism and sociobi­ology inform sexual politics in the Republic of Gilead.

Indigenous peoples' displacement and jaguar survival in a warming planet

Non-technical summary Climate change threatens tropical forests, ecosystem services, and indigenous peoples. The effects of climate change will force the San Blas Island communities of the indigenous Guna people to relocate to one of the most extensive, intact forests in Panama. In this paper, we argue that the impacts of climate change, and the proposed resettlement, will synergistically affect the jaguar. As apex predators, jaguars are sensitive to landscape change and require intact forests with ample prey to survive. Proactively planning for the intrinsically related issues of climate change, human displacement, and jaguar conservation is a complex but essential management task. Technical summary Tropical rainforest, coastal, and island communities are on the front line of increasing temperatures and sea-level rise associated with climate change. Future impacts on the interconnectedness of biological and cultural diversity (biocultural heritage) remain unknown. We review the interplay between the impacts of climate change and the displacement of the indigenous Guna people from the San Blas Islands, the relocation back to their mainland territory, and the implications for jaguar persistence. We highlight one of the most significant challenges to using resettlement as an adaptive strategy to climate change, securing a location where the Guna livelihoods, traditions, and culture may continue without significant change while protecting ecosystem services (e.g. biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and water). We posit that developing management plans that strive to meet social needs without sacrificing environmental principles will meet these objectives. Social media summary A biocultural approach increases adaptive capacity for ecological and human social systems threatened by climate change.

Immature Pelvic Growth and Obesity

Adolescent pregnancy in youth aged 10-19 years is associated with higher rates of adverse outcomes for both the mother and infant than adult pregnancy. Obesity and immature pelvic growth compound the associated risks of adolescent pregnancy. Black and Indigenous youth in the United States (U.S.) experience disproportionately high rates of adolescent pregnancy and obesity. This research project aimed to answer two questions: (1) What are the contributing risks of pelvic immaturity and obesity on adverse outcomes in adolescent pregnancy, especially in the U.S.?; and (2) Why are Black and Indigenous youth at particular risk of adolescent pregnancy and obesity in the U.S.? In this research project, I have conducted statistical analyses of biological and sociocultural factors associated with adolescent pregnancy using the CDC WONDER database, and I have used case studies and ethnographic accounts to gain insight on Black and Indigenous youth experiences with adolescent pregnancy. In this paper I examine the racial disparities in rates of adolescent pregnancy, obesity, and adverse outcomes in the U.S. My paper contributes research to a current public health issue by using an integrative biocultural approach.

Reorienting Bioarchaeology for an Era of Reconciliation

Anthropology, in general, has recently been working toward reworking their systems to be better suited to the needs of descendent communities. Bioarchaeology, however, has been slower to adopt these efforts. In the spirit of reconciliation, it is important for all disciplines to self-reflect and critique the colonial systems that have been institutionalized their teaching and research. This paper serves as a theoretical exploration into the current practice of bioarchaeology and seeks to provide a theoretical model that could contribute toward the decolonization of the discipline to be appropriate for application in Canada. It discusses how to better orient theory to compliment ancestral knowledge and reorganize bioarchaeology so that it could be more useful to responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action (2015) and benefit the needs of descendants. It will proceed by reviewing the integration of social theory in bioarchaeol­ogy, providing a critique of the biocultural approach, and finish by proposing a theoretical model that seeks to contribute to the ongoing decolonization of bioarchaeology. The model that this paper proposes serves is a suggestion of how to better structure and conduct a project including ancient human remains to better optimize the application of archaeological theory as a compliment to traditional knowledge. It is formed on the bases of theories of personhood, shared histories, behavioral archaeology, and biocultural approaches to provide a pragmatic synthesis of theory for a community driven bioarchaeology.

Deconstructing “Deviant”

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the historical, cultural, and contextual framework of this volume. Taking a critical view of how we define “non-normative” and “atypical” burials in archaeological research, this chapter highlights the long history and new approaches to burial practices that vary across distinct temporal and geographic landscapes. Championing a holistic approach beyond binary classifications, we argue there is an increasing need to avoid the use of limiting definitions and to recognize the continuum of variation that exists within these burial contexts. By focusing on the context of each burial and following an integrated biocultural approach, we are positioned to better interpret and understand their meaning(s). This chapter also introduces each study in the volume highlighting the significance of this collection through an array of comprehensive and critical analyses.

Resilience Assessment Workshops: A Biocultural Approach to Conservation Management of a Rural Landscape in Taiwan

Local and indigenous communities play a crucial role in stewardship of biodiversity worldwide. Assessment of resilience in socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) is an essential prerequisite for sustainable human–nature interactions in the area. This work examines application of resilience assessment workshops (RAWs) as a biocultural approach to conservation management in Xinshe SEPLS, Hualien County, Taiwan. RAWs were conducted in 2017–2018 in two indigenous communities—Amis Fuxing Dipit Tribe and Kavalan Xinshe Paterongan Tribe—as a part of an ongoing multi-stakeholder platform for the “Forest–River–Village–Sea Ecoagriculture Initiative” (the Initiative). Objectives of the study include (1) performing a baseline landscape resilience assessment in two communities and identifying their common and varying concerns and priorities, and (2) eliciting a community-driven vision for enhancement of the landscape resilience based on adjustments to the action plan of the Initiative. Assessment methodology employs 20 indicators of resilience in SEPLS jointly developed by the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) and Biodiversity International; an “Explain–Score–Discuss–Suggest” model is applied. Results show that the communities’ primary issues of concern and adjustments to the action plan are related to biodiversity-based livelihoods, transfer of traditional knowledge, and sustainable use of common resources. The study concludes that this approach has a high potential to help facilitate nature-based solutions for human well-being and biodiversity benefits in Xinshe SEPLS.