Human Ecology vs. Cultural Ecology Ecological anthropologists who view themselves as human...

Human Ecology vs. Cultural Ecology

Ecological anthropologists who view themselves as human ecologists generally see ecology as providing a testable framework for examining both human and nonhuman social behavior within a unified theoretical perspective. Those who view themselves as cultural ecologists, on the other hand, are more likely to reject a strict application of ecological principles to the study of the human condition on the grounds that culture acts as a mediating force which renders human adaptation to the environment analytically distinct from that of all other species. For cultural ecologists, ecology serves more as an orientation for the study of human environmental relations than as an operational set of theoretical principles which can be used to explain specific human social behaviors.

Assumptions of Human Ecology

1. Any system containing living organisms constitutes an ecological system.

2. Human communities are ecological communities through which energy flows and by which population/resource relationships are regulated.

Energy Flow Symbols

(H.T. Odum)

Energy-Flow Symbols(Kormondy & Brown)

Simplified Energy-Flow

System

Energy Flow in a Simple & More

Complicated Food Chain

Household Energy-Flow

System

Range-Fed vs.

FeedlotBeef

Dobe !Kung Foraging System

Turkana Pastoral System

Lamotrek Pacific Atol

Andean Pastoral System

Industrialized High-Yield Agriculture