Ideas with Histories: Traditional Knowledge Evolves
Anthropologists have long been fascinated by the strikingly similar adaptations of circumpolar cultures as well as their puzzling differences. These patterns of diversity have been mapped, studied, and interpreted from many perspectives and often at different social and spatiotemporal scales. While...
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ftunivcalgaryojs:oai:journalhosting.ucalgary.ca:article/76991 2023-10-01T03:52:24+02:00 Ideas with Histories: Traditional Knowledge Evolves Walsh, Matthew J. O'Neill, Sean Prentiss, Anna Marie Willerslev, Rane Riede, Felix Jordan, Peter D. 2023-03-14 application/pdf https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/76991 eng eng The Arctic Institute of North America https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/76991/56643 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/76991 Copyright (c) 2023 ARCTIC http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ARCTIC; Vol. 76 No. 1 (2023): MARCH 1–111; 26-47 1923-1245 0004-0843 Arctic circumpolar cultural diversity traditional knowledge social learning cultural inheritance cultural evolution social-ecological systems climate change Arctique diversité culturelle circumpolaire connaissances traditionnelles apprentissage social héritage culturel évolution culturelle systèmes socioécologiques changements climatiques info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion research-article 2023 ftunivcalgaryojs 2023-09-03T17:42:37Z Anthropologists have long been fascinated by the strikingly similar adaptations of circumpolar cultures as well as their puzzling differences. These patterns of diversity have been mapped, studied, and interpreted from many perspectives and often at different social and spatiotemporal scales. While this work has generated vast archives of legacy data, it has also left behind a fragmented understanding of what underpins Arctic cultural diversity and change. We argue that it is time to engage with questions that highlight the roles of socio-environmental learning and cumulative cultural inheritance in shaping human adaptations to Arctic environs. We situate this in light of longue durée adaptations to environmental change. We examine five case studies that have used this framework to explore the genealogy of northern cultural traditions and show how social learning, cultural inheritance, and transmission processes are germane to understanding the generation and change in varied information systems (i.e., traditional knowledge). Specifically, a cultural evolutionary framework enables long-lens insights into human decision-making trajectories, with continued and prescient impacts in the rapidly changing Arctic. It is critical to improve understandings of traditional knowledge not as static cultural phenomena, but as dynamic lineages of information: ideas with histories. Improving knowledge of the dynamic and evolving character of inherited traditional knowledge in circumpolar human-environment interactions must be a research priority given the pressures of accelerating climate change on Indigenous communities and the social-ecological systems in which they exist in order to help buffer cultural systems against future adaptive challenges in the rapidly changing Arctic. Depuis longtemps, les anthropologues sont fascinés par les adaptations similaires et les différences intrigantes des cultures circumpolaires. Ces tendances ont été cartographiées, étudiées et interprétées sous différents angles, souvent à des niveaux ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Arctique* Climate change University of Calgary Journal Hosting Arctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Calgary Journal Hosting |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcalgaryojs |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic circumpolar cultural diversity traditional knowledge social learning cultural inheritance cultural evolution social-ecological systems climate change Arctique diversité culturelle circumpolaire connaissances traditionnelles apprentissage social héritage culturel évolution culturelle systèmes socioécologiques changements climatiques |
spellingShingle |
Arctic circumpolar cultural diversity traditional knowledge social learning cultural inheritance cultural evolution social-ecological systems climate change Arctique diversité culturelle circumpolaire connaissances traditionnelles apprentissage social héritage culturel évolution culturelle systèmes socioécologiques changements climatiques Walsh, Matthew J. O'Neill, Sean Prentiss, Anna Marie Willerslev, Rane Riede, Felix Jordan, Peter D. Ideas with Histories: Traditional Knowledge Evolves |
topic_facet |
Arctic circumpolar cultural diversity traditional knowledge social learning cultural inheritance cultural evolution social-ecological systems climate change Arctique diversité culturelle circumpolaire connaissances traditionnelles apprentissage social héritage culturel évolution culturelle systèmes socioécologiques changements climatiques |
description |
Anthropologists have long been fascinated by the strikingly similar adaptations of circumpolar cultures as well as their puzzling differences. These patterns of diversity have been mapped, studied, and interpreted from many perspectives and often at different social and spatiotemporal scales. While this work has generated vast archives of legacy data, it has also left behind a fragmented understanding of what underpins Arctic cultural diversity and change. We argue that it is time to engage with questions that highlight the roles of socio-environmental learning and cumulative cultural inheritance in shaping human adaptations to Arctic environs. We situate this in light of longue durée adaptations to environmental change. We examine five case studies that have used this framework to explore the genealogy of northern cultural traditions and show how social learning, cultural inheritance, and transmission processes are germane to understanding the generation and change in varied information systems (i.e., traditional knowledge). Specifically, a cultural evolutionary framework enables long-lens insights into human decision-making trajectories, with continued and prescient impacts in the rapidly changing Arctic. It is critical to improve understandings of traditional knowledge not as static cultural phenomena, but as dynamic lineages of information: ideas with histories. Improving knowledge of the dynamic and evolving character of inherited traditional knowledge in circumpolar human-environment interactions must be a research priority given the pressures of accelerating climate change on Indigenous communities and the social-ecological systems in which they exist in order to help buffer cultural systems against future adaptive challenges in the rapidly changing Arctic. Depuis longtemps, les anthropologues sont fascinés par les adaptations similaires et les différences intrigantes des cultures circumpolaires. Ces tendances ont été cartographiées, étudiées et interprétées sous différents angles, souvent à des niveaux ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Walsh, Matthew J. O'Neill, Sean Prentiss, Anna Marie Willerslev, Rane Riede, Felix Jordan, Peter D. |
author_facet |
Walsh, Matthew J. O'Neill, Sean Prentiss, Anna Marie Willerslev, Rane Riede, Felix Jordan, Peter D. |
author_sort |
Walsh, Matthew J. |
title |
Ideas with Histories: Traditional Knowledge Evolves |
title_short |
Ideas with Histories: Traditional Knowledge Evolves |
title_full |
Ideas with Histories: Traditional Knowledge Evolves |
title_fullStr |
Ideas with Histories: Traditional Knowledge Evolves |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ideas with Histories: Traditional Knowledge Evolves |
title_sort |
ideas with histories: traditional knowledge evolves |
publisher |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/76991 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Arctique* Climate change |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Arctique* Climate change |
op_source |
ARCTIC; Vol. 76 No. 1 (2023): MARCH 1–111; 26-47 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_relation |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/76991/56643 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/76991 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2023 ARCTIC http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
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1778518512832086016 |