Cultural ecology is a subdiscipline of anthropology that studies human adaptations to social and physical environments. It seeks to explain similarities and differences in culture in relation to the environment. Here are some key points about cultural ecology:
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Definition: Cultural ecology refers to the changing relationships between culture and the environment.
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Scope: Cultural ecology covers a number of aspects of human society, including the distribution of wealth and power in a society, and how that affects behavior such as hoarding or gifting.
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Interdisciplinary: Cultural ecology is a conceptual arena that has allowed sociologists, physicists, zoologists, and geographers to enter common intellectual ground from the sidelines of their specialist subjects.
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Origins: Cultural ecology was developed by Julian Steward in the 1930s and 1940s and became an influential approach within anthropology, particularly archaeology.
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Approach: Cultural ecology is highly focused on how the material culture, or technology, related to basic survival, i.e., subsistence. It was the first theoretical approach to provide a causal explanation for those similarities and differences.
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Environmental determinism: The approach of cultural ecology was labeled environmental determinism because cultural similarities were explained by adaptations to similar environmental conditions.
In summary, cultural ecology is a theoretical approach that attempts to explain similarities and differences in culture in relation to the environment. It covers a number of aspects of human society and is interdisciplinary in nature. It was developed by Julian Steward and became an influential approach within anthropology.
