Traditional knowledge

About: Traditional knowledge is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 10825 publications have been published within this topic receiving 202790 citations. The topic is also known as: indigenous knowledge & indigenous knowledge system.

Pacific walruses, indigenous hunters, and climate change: Bridging scientific and indigenous knowledge

Abstract: This paper presents and evaluates two perspectives on changing climate–walrus–human relationships in the Beringian region, from the viewpoints of marine biology and ecology, and from that of indigenous hunters. Bridging these types of knowledge is vital in order to grasp the complexity of the processes involved and for advancing understanding of subarctic marine ecosystems that are currently experiencing rapid ecological and social change. We argue that despite substantial gaps and distinctions, information generated by scientists and indigenous hunters have many similarities. Differences in interpretation are primarily due to scaling and temporal rates of change of knowledge, which could be rectified through more active sharing of expertise and records, enhanced documentation of indigenous observations, more collaborative research, and increased insight from the social sciences.

Transformation of traditional knowledge of medicinal plants: the case of Tyroleans (Austria) who migrated to Australia, Brazil and Peru

Abstract: Background In ethnobotanical research, the investigation into traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in the context of migration has been of increasing interest in recent decades since it is influenced and changed by new environmental and social conditions. It most likely undergoes transformation processes to match the different living circumstances in the new location. This study compares the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants held by Tyroleans – and their descendants – who emigrated to Australia, Brazil and Peru at different time scales. The study’s findings allow a discussion of the complexities and dynamics that influence this knowledge within the context of long-distance migration.

Indigenous Austalians and physical activity: using a social–ecological model to review the literature

Abstract: This paper aims to present what is currently known about Indigenous Australians and their engagement in physical activity and to then challenge some of the 'taken-for-granted' ways of thinking about promoting or researching physical activity with Indigenous Australians. Major health, education and sport databases, as well as government websites were searched using the key terms of physical activity, sport, leisure, recreation, Indigenous and Aboriginal/Aborigine. A social-ecological model of health was adapted and used as an organizing framework to synthesize the literature. It is concluded that socioecological models can be valuable tools for understanding and promoting issues related to physical activity engagement for a range of populations but they may require complementary critical insights, including those from Indigenous perspectives. Productive theoretical spaces where Western and Indigenous knowledges come together can assist health educators to consider the complexity and diversity of Indigenous people's lived experiences when planning and implementing programs.

Familiar Medicine: Everyday Health Knowledge and Practice in Today's Vietnam

Abstract: One of the first medical ethnographies to be written on contemporary Vietnam, Familiar Medicine examines the practical ways in which people of the Red River Delta make sense of their bodies, illness, and medicine. Traditional knowledge and practices have persisted but are now expressed through and alongside global medical knowledge and commodities. Western medicine has been eagerly adopted and incorporated into everyday life in Vietnam, but not entirely on its own terms. Familiar Medicine takes a conjectural, interdisciplinary approach to its subject, weaving together history, ethnography, cultural geography, and survey materials to provide a rich and readable account of local practices in the context of an increasingly globalized world and growing microbial resistance to antibiotics. Theoretically, it draws on current critical and cultural theory (in particular applying Pierre Bourdieu's work on habitus and practical logics) in innovative but approachable ways. David Craig addresses a range of contemporary fascinations in medical anthropology and the sociology of health and illness: from the trafficking of medical commodities and ideas under globalization to the hybridization of local cultural formations, knowledge, and practices. His book will be required reading for international workers in health and development in Vietnam and a rich resource for courses in cultural geography, anthropology, medical sociology, regional studies, and public and international health.