Ethnobiology and the Science of Humankind

This landmark volume assesses the contribution of recent work in ethnobiology to anthropological thought. Considers the ways in which the subject matter and methodologies of ethnobiological research address core anthropological questions. Contributors explore a wide range of themes, such as our understanding of those processes which transform the environment, and the evolution of the cultural mind. Addresses anthropological issues of general interest, from biology to reflexivity. Helps to develop the productive relationship between ethnobiology and anthropology.

Roy Ellen is Professor of Anthropology and Human Ecology at the University of Kent at Canterbury. His research, mainly focussed on island southeast Asia, has spanned issues in ethnobiological classification, the ecology of swidden cultivation, deforestation and inter-island trade. His previous publications include On the Edge of the Banda Zone (2003), The Cultural Relations of Classification (1993) and Environment, Subsistence and System (1982).