Anthropology 309
eHRAF Assignment (10 points)
TEK—Traditional Ecological Knowledge
1. Locate the eHRAF
A. Go to the WSUV library website:
B. On the left-hand side of the page select “Databases (find articles)”
C. Under the alphabet listing select “H”
D. Select “HRAF World Cultures”
2. Select a culture. Select “Browse” and then “Regions”. Select a region of the world that interests you. Click on a culture that may interest you and read the short “culture description” and then click on “Culture Summary” for a more detailed description and read the sections: Identification and Location and Subsistence.
3. Conduct the study. Select “Search” and enter your culture and the number 824, which is the code for ethnobotany, and then click “eHRAF Search”. For example, if you picked the Azande as you culture you would type in Azande 824.
Once you get your “Results” click the name of your culture and this will take you to the pages with your results. For each item (each reference will be listed by number) go to “Text” and the part in blue that says “Show full paragraph”. Read all of it to help you answer the questions in the assignment.
Once you have finished reading the material from 824, go back to Search and do the same thing except enter the culture and the number 825, which is the code for ethnozoology.
If your culture does not have any information on the 824 or 825 codes, select another culture (most cultures have information).
4. Use the data to answer the following questions.
1. What is the basic mode of production of the group—foragers, farmers, pastoralists, peasants, etc.
2. What are the primary food items?
3. What types of ethnobotanical knowledge are described for this group? Can you categorize the different types of knowledge described? What plants are described in the greatest detail? How many plants are described?
4. What types of ethnozoological knowledge are described for this group? Can you categorize the different types of knowledge described? What animals are described in the greatest detail? How many animals are described? Is knowledge about animal behavior described?
5. Do any of the texts provide information about how children learn about plants and animals?
6. How does your own botanical and zoological knowledge compare to that of culture you studied?
7. Based upon the descriptions of ethnobotany and ethnozoology, what can you say about how the people view nature or human-nature relations?
8. What knowledge was the most insightful to you?
The paper should be typed, double-spaced, one-inch margins, no larger than 12 point font, and about 2-3 pages in length. Be prepared to briefly discuss your culture in class.