Ethnoscience
has been defined as an attempt "to reconstitute what serves as science
for others, their practices of looking after themselves and their
bodies, their botanical knowledge, but also their forms of
classification, of making connections, etc." (Augé, 1999: 118).
Origins
Ethnoscience has not always focused on ideas distinct from those of "cognitive anthropology", "component analysis", or "the New Ethnography"; it is a specialization of indigenous knowledge-systems, such as ethno-botany, ethno-zoology, ethno-medicine, etc. (Atran, 1991: 595). According to Scott Atran, ethnoscience looks at culture with a scientific perspective (1991: 650), although most
anthropologists abhor this definition. Ethnoscience helps to understand
how people develop with different forms of knowledge and beliefs, and
focuses on the ecological and historical contributions people have been
given (Atran, 1991: 650). Tim Ingold
describes ethnoscience as a cross-discipline (2000: 160). He writes
that ethnoscience is based on increased collaboration between social sciences and the humanities (e.g., anthropology, sociology, psychology, and philosophy) with natural sciences such as biology, ecology, or medicine (Ingold, 2000: 406-7). At the same time, ethnoscience is increasingly transdisciplinary in its nature (Ingold, 2000: 407).
Of course, naturally over time, the ways in which data has been
collected and studied has changed and the field has evolved, becoming
more detailed and specific (Urry, 1972: 45).
The ideas, mechanics, and methods of ethnoscience evolved from
something else - a combination of several things. This pretext
amalgamation of theories, processes, and –isms led to the evolution of today's ethnoscience.
Early approaches
Early on, Franz Boas established cultural relativism
as an approach to understanding indigenous scientific practices (Uddin,
2005: 980). Cultural relativism identifies people's differences and
shows how they are a result of the social, historical, and geographical
conditions (Uddin, 2005: 980). Boas is known for his work in Northern Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, working with the Kwakwaka'wakw Indians, which is where he established the importance of culture (Uddin, 2005: 980). Lévi-Strauss' structuralism
was a strong contributor to the ideas of ethnoscience (Uddin, 2005:
980). It, itself, was the leading idea of providing structure to the
research and a guide to organizing and relating different cultures.
"Ethnoscience refers to a 'reduction of chaos' achieved by a particular
culture, rather than to the 'highest possible and conscious degree' to
which such chaos may be reduced;" basically, the ethnoscience of a
society creates its culture (Sturtevant, 1964: 100). Much of the
influence of anthropology, e.g., geographical determinism, was through the contributions of Jean Bodin
(Harris, 1968: 42). In his text, he tried to explain why "northern
people were faithful, loyal to the government, cruel, and sexually
uninterested, compared to why southern people were malicious, craft,
wise, expert in science but ill-adapted to political activity (Harris,
1968: 52)." The Greek historian, Polybius,
asserted "we mortals have an irresistible tendency to yield to climatic
influences; and to this cause, and no other, may be traced the great
distinctions that prevail among us in character, physical formation,
complexion, as well as in most of our habits…" (quoted in Harris, 1968:
41).
Another aspect of anthropology prior to ethnoscience is enculturation.
Newton and Newton described enculturation as a process whereby the
novice, or "outsider", learns what is important to the "insider" (1998).
Marvin Harris
writes, "One of [enculturation's] most important technical expressions
is the doctrine of 'psychic unity,' the belief that in the study of
sociocultural differences, hereditary (genetic) differences cancel each
other out, leaving 'experience' as the most significant variable"
(Harris, 1968: 15). This is one of the many starts of people opening up
to the idea that just because people are different, doesn't mean they
are wrong in their thinking. Harris describes how religious beliefs
hinder and affect the progress of anthropology and ethnography.
The moral beliefs and restrictions of religion fought against
anthropological ideas, possibly due to (especially at the time) to the
newly hyped idea of evolutionism and Darwinism (Harris, 1968).
Bronislaw Malinowski was one of many who contributed heavily to the precursor of ethnoscience. His earlier work brought attention to sociological studies; his earliest publication focused on a family in Australia, using a sociological study perspective (Harris, 1968: 547). After the First World War,
anthropological work was at a stand still; nothing had evolved, if not
regressed (Urry, 1972: 54). This allowed him to start from scratch, and
rebuild his ideas and methods (Harris, 1968: 547).
Later, however, Malinowski branched out to political evolution during World War II.
The period after World War II is what led to ethnoscience;
anthropologists learned their skills could be applied to problems that
were affecting modern societies (Mead, 1973: 1). Malinowski said "… with
his tables of kinship terms, genealogies,
maps, plans and diagrams, proves an extensive and big organization,
shows the contribution of the tribe, of the clan, of the family, and he
gives a picture of the natives subjected to a strict code of behavior
and good manners, to which in comparison the life at the Court of Versailles or Escurial
was free and easy" (1922: 10). After World War II, there was an extreme
amount of growth in the anthropological field, not only with research
opportunities but academically, as well (Mead, 1973: 2).
The anthropologist Robin Horton,
who taught at several Nigerian universities, considered the traditional
knowledge of indigenous peoples as incorporated within conceptual world
views that bear certain similarities to, and differences from, the
modern scientific worldview. Like modern science, traditional thought
provides a theoretical structure that "places things in a causal order
wider than that provided by common sense" (Horton, 1967, p. 53). In
contrast to modern science, he saw traditional thought as having a
limited awareness of theoretical alternatives and, consequently,
displaying "an absolute acceptance of the established theoretical
tenets" (Horton, 1967, pp. 155–6).
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of related methods and
processes that preceded ethnoscience. Ethnoscience is just another way
to study the human culture and the way people interact in society.
Taking a look at the ideas and analyses prior to ethnoscience can help
understand why it was developed in the first place. Although, it is not
widely used and there is criticism on both ends, ethnoscience allows for
a more comprehensive way to collect data and patterns of a people. This
is not to say the process is its best or that there will be nothing
better. That is the best part: everything evolves, even thought. Just as
the ideas did in the past, they can improve over time and regress over
time but change is inevitable.
Development
Ethnoscience
is a new term and study that came into anthropological theory in the
1960s. Often referred to as "indigenous knowledge", ethnoscience
introduces a perspective based on native perceptions. It is based on a
complete emic perspective, which excludes all observations,
interpretations and or any personal notions belonging to the
ethnographer. The taxonomy and classification of indigenous systems, to
name a few, used to categorize plants, animals, religion and life is
adapted from a linguistic analysis. The concept of "Native Science" is
also related to the understanding the role of the environment
intertwined with the meaning humans place upon their lives.
Understanding the language and the native people's linguistic system is
one method to understand a native people's system of knowledge of
organization. Not only is there categorization for things pertaining to
nature and culture thought language, but more importantly and complex is
the relationship between environment and culture. Ethnoscience looks at
the intricacies of the connection between culture and its surrounding
environment. There are also potential limitations and shortcomings in
interpreting these systems of knowledge as a dictation of culture and
behavior.
Since an ethnographer is not able to physically enter inside an
indigenous person's mind, it is essential to not only create a setting
or question-answer format to understand perspective but to analyze
semantics and word order of given answer to derive an emic
understanding. The main focus on a particular component of the languages
is placed on its lexicon. The terms "etic" and "emic" are derived from the linguistic terms of "phonetic" and "phonemic".
As introduced by Gregory Cajete,
some limitations the concept of indigenous knowledge, is the potential
to bypass non-indigenous knowledge as pertinent and valuable. The labels
of "indigenous" are overly accepted by those who seek more support by
outsiders to further their cause. There might also be an unequal
distribution of knowledge amongst a tribe or peoples. There is also the
idea that culture is bound by environment. Some theorists conclude that
indigenous people's culture is not operated by mental concentrations but
solely by the earth that surrounds them. Some theorists go the extent
to state that biological processes are based upon the availability, of
lack thereof, environmental resources. The methods for sustainability
are founded through the workings of the land. These techniques are
exercised from the basis of tradition. The importance of the combination
of ecological process, social structures, environmental ethics and
spiritual ecology are crucial to the expression of the true connection
between the natural world and "ecological consciousness".
The origin of Ethnoscience began between the years 1960 to 1965;
deriving from the concept of "ethno- + science". Ethno- a combining form
meaning "race", "culture", "people", used in the formation of compound
words: ethnography. The two concepts later emerged into "ethno-science".
The origin of the word 'science' involves the empiric observation of
measurable quantities and the testing of hypotheses to falsify or
support them.
"Ethnoscience refers to the system of knowledge and cognition typical of
a given culture...to put it another way a culture itself amounts to the
sum of a given society's folk classifications, all of that society's
ethnoscience, its particular ways of classifying its material and social
universe" (Sturtevant 1964: 99–100). The aim of ethnoscience is to gain
a more complete description of cultural knowledge. Ethnoscience has
been successfully used on several studies of given cultures relating to
their linguistics, folk taxonomy, and how they classify their foods,
animals and plants.
Ethnolinguistics
Ethnoscience
is the examination of the perceptions, knowledge, and classifications
of the world as reflected in their use of language, which can help
anthropologists understand a given culture. By using an ethnographic
approach to studying a culture and learning their lexicon and syntax
they are able to gain more knowledge in understanding how a particular
culture classifies its material and social universe. In addition, this
approach "adopted provides simultaneously a point at which the
discipline of linguistics, or at least some of its general attitudes,
may sensibly be used in anthropology and as a means of gaining insight
not only into the nature of man but also into the nature of culture"
(Videbeck and Pia, 1966).
Researchers can use linguistics to study what a given culture
considers important in a given situation or unforeseen event, and can
rank those potential situations in terms of their likelihood to recur.
In addition, "understanding the contingencies is helpful in the task of
comprehending folk taxonomies on the one hand, and, on the other, an
understanding of the taxonomy is required for a full scale appreciation
of criteria considered relevant in a given culture (Videbeck and Pia,
1966).
Taxonomy and classification
Ethnoscience
can be used to analyze the kinship terminology of a given culture,
using their language and according to how they view members of their
society. Taxonomies "are models of analysis whose purpose is the
description of particular types of hierarchical relationships between
members of a given set of elements" (Perchonock and Werner,
1969). For example, in our society we classify family groups by giving
members the title of father, mother, sister, daughter, brother, son,
grandfather, grandmother, etc.
System of classification – among cultures
Ethnoscience
deals with how a given culture classifies certain principles in
addition to how it is express through their language. By understanding a
given culture through how they view the world, anthropologists attempt
to eliminate any bias through translation as well as categorized their
principles in their own ways. "The new methods, which focus on the
discovery and description of folk systems, have come to be known as
Ethnoscience. Ethnoscience analysis has thus far concentrated on systems
of classification within such cultural and linguistic domains as
colors, plants, and medicines" (Perchonock and Werner,
1969). An ethnoscientific approach can be used to better understand a
given culture and their knowledge of their culture. Using an
ethnographic approach can help anthropologists understand how that given
culture views and categorizes their own foods, animal kingdom,
medicines, as well as plants.
Contemporary research
Ethnoscience
can be effectively summed up as a classification system for a
particular culture in the same way that a botanist would use a taxonomic
system for the classification of plant species. Everything from class
levels, food consumption, clothing, and material culture objects would
be subjected to a taxonomic classification system. In essence,
ethnoscience is a way of classifying cultural systems in a structured
order to better understand the culture.
The roots of ethnoscience can be traced back to influential
anthropologists such as Franz Boas, Bronislaw Malinowski, and Benjamin Whorf who attempted to understand other cultures from an insider's perspective. Ward Goodenough is accredited for bringing ethnoscience to the stage when he define cultural systems of knowledge by stating:
"A societies culture consists of whatever it is one has to know or believe in order to operate in a manner acceptable to its members. Culture is not a material phenomenon; it does not consist of things, behavior, or emotions. It is rather an organization of these things. It is the form of things that people have in mind, their models for perceiving, relating, and otherwise interpreting them."
(Goodenough 1957:167)
In order to properly put ethnoscience in context we must first
understand the definition of ethnoscience. it is defined as "an attempt
at cultural description from a totally emic perspective (a perspective
in ethnography that uses the concepts and categories that are relevant
and meaningful to the culture that is insider analysis) standpoint, this
eliminating all of the ethnographer's own categories" (Morey and
Luthans 27). Ethnoscience is also a way of learning and understanding
how an individual or group perceive their environment and how they fit
in with their environment as reflected in their own words and actions.
Ethnoscience has many techniques when applied to an emic
perspective. Ethnosemantics, ethnographic semantics, ethnographic
ethnoscience, formal analysis, and componential analysis are the terms
that apply to the practice of ethnoscience. Ethnosemantics looks at the
meaning of words in order to place them in context of the culture being
studied. It allows for taxonomy of a certain part of the culture being
looked at so that there is a clear breakdown which in turn leads to a
deeper understanding of the subject at hand. Ethnographic semantics are
very similar to cognitive anthropology in that its primary focus is the
intellectual and rational perspectives of the culture being studied.
Ethnographic semantics specifically looks at how language is used
throughout the culture. Lastly, ethnographic ethnoscience is related to
ethnosemantics such that, it uses a taxonomic system to understand how
cultural knowledge is accessible through language. Ethnographic
ethnoscience uses similar classification systems for cultural domains
like ethnobotany and ethnoanatomy. Again, ethnoscience is a way of
understanding a how a culture sees itself through its own language.
Understanding the cultural language allows the ethnographer to have a
deeper and more intimate understanding of the culture.
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