How do people classify and reason about the organic world? A common view of ethnobiological categories is that they are organized taxonomically, correspond well to scientific biological taxonomies, and are only marginally influenced by cultural practices. Current research aims to examine these claims by investigating ethnobiological naming and organization across cultures. Additionally, the project explores the language of perception relating to biological organisms in order to determine how culturally salient perceptual features impact the conception of relationships between life forms.

Researchers

• Niclas Burenhult on Semang foragers of the Malay Peninsula
• Nick Enfield on Kri spoken in Laos
• Stephen C. Levinson on Yélî Dnye of Rossel Island, Papua New Guinea
• Ewelina Wnuk on Maniq spoken in southern Thailand

Contact person

Asifa Majid