TY - JOUR
T1 - Social memory and niche construction in a hypervariable environment
AU - Douglass, Kristina
AU - Rasolondrainy, Tanambelo
N1 - Funding Information:
Above all we thank the knowledge holders of Velondriake who contributed to the recording of an invaluable and rich archive of oral history and traditional ecological knowledge. We thank the Presidents of all Velondriake villages in which oral history interviews were conducted for granting permission to the MAP team to conduct this work. We thank Mr. Adolphe Ediedy, Congressman representing Morombe District, for his support and dedication to this project. We thank community members who attended and contributed to the interviews. We thank the MAP team, and especially Mr. Roger Samba, for their dedication to recording, preserving and transmitting Velondriake oral history. This article represents one of many active efforts to valorize this archive of LID knowledge and will be complemented by the findings and perspectives that emerge from further publications, and outreach and preservation efforts that include different configurations of the MAP team. Finally, we heartily thank the Editor and anonymous reviewers, whose incisive and thoughtful comments helped us improve the article, and guest editors, Anne Pisor and Jamie Jones, for their vision in bringing together a dynamic group of colleagues and papers in this special issue. This article was supported by funding from the Penn State Center for Security Research and Education, the Penn State Africana Research Center, and the Penn State Center for Humanities and Information for our “Vezo Ecological Knowledge Exchange” project.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
PY - 2021/7/1
Y1 - 2021/7/1
N2 - Background: Communities in southwest Madagascar have co-evolved with a hypervariable environment and climate. The paleoclimate record reflects major fluctuations in climatic conditions over the course of Holocene human settlement. Archeological evidence indicates short-term occupations of sites, suggesting that frequent residential mobility and flexible subsistence strategies have been central features of life on the southwest coast for millennia. Today, despite rapid changes linked to globalization and increasing market integration, mobility and subsistence flexibility remain key to the lives of communities of the region. Aims: In this article, we advocate closer consideration of the social dimensions of the human niche, and their inextricable links to the biophysical world. Specifically, we explore the theoretical implications of applying a Niche Construction Theory framework to understanding the role of social memory in constructing the human niche of SW Madagascar. We look at how social memory facilitates mobility, resource use, and the creation and maintenance of social identities and ties among communities of foragers, farmers, herders, and fishers living under hypervariable climatic conditions. Materials & Methods: We conducted an extensive oral history survey in SW Madagascar between 2017 and 2018. We interviewed over 100 elders from 32 different communities. Results: Our analysis of the oral history archive resulted in the development of a theoretical model of human niche construction centered on the maintenance and transmission of social memory. Discussion: We argue that social memory and the ability to transmit oral histories of exchange, reciprocity, and cooperation, as well as ecological knowledge are key adaptive mechanisms that facilitate mobility and access to resources in a hypervariable environment. Conclusion: The preservation and transmission of oral histories and ecological knowledge are thus critical to future resilience and sustainability.
AB - Background: Communities in southwest Madagascar have co-evolved with a hypervariable environment and climate. The paleoclimate record reflects major fluctuations in climatic conditions over the course of Holocene human settlement. Archeological evidence indicates short-term occupations of sites, suggesting that frequent residential mobility and flexible subsistence strategies have been central features of life on the southwest coast for millennia. Today, despite rapid changes linked to globalization and increasing market integration, mobility and subsistence flexibility remain key to the lives of communities of the region. Aims: In this article, we advocate closer consideration of the social dimensions of the human niche, and their inextricable links to the biophysical world. Specifically, we explore the theoretical implications of applying a Niche Construction Theory framework to understanding the role of social memory in constructing the human niche of SW Madagascar. We look at how social memory facilitates mobility, resource use, and the creation and maintenance of social identities and ties among communities of foragers, farmers, herders, and fishers living under hypervariable climatic conditions. Materials & Methods: We conducted an extensive oral history survey in SW Madagascar between 2017 and 2018. We interviewed over 100 elders from 32 different communities. Results: Our analysis of the oral history archive resulted in the development of a theoretical model of human niche construction centered on the maintenance and transmission of social memory. Discussion: We argue that social memory and the ability to transmit oral histories of exchange, reciprocity, and cooperation, as well as ecological knowledge are key adaptive mechanisms that facilitate mobility and access to resources in a hypervariable environment. Conclusion: The preservation and transmission of oral histories and ecological knowledge are thus critical to future resilience and sustainability.
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U2 - 10.1002/ajhb.23557
DO - 10.1002/ajhb.23557
M3 - Article
C2 - 33393171
AN - SCOPUS:85099097534
SN - 1042-0533
VL - 33
JO - American Journal of Human Biology
JF - American Journal of Human Biology
IS - 4
M1 - e23557
ER -