Project facts
Presentation
The proposed transdisciplinary research will apply cultural transmission models to study the vertical and horizontal transmission dynamics of cultural heritages at four comparative study sites: Hoonah Alaska U.S.A., Zhetysu Kazakhstan, Chiapas Mexico, and Khovd Mongolia. We will marry these socio-cultural data to ecological data on the changes in resource distributions anticipated due to climate change, and then feed back this information to study site stakeholders and partners so they can consider whether they need to alter their traditional levels of vertical versus horizontal transmission for cultural heritage to account for changes brought on by a changing climate.
Impacts & Results
Fieldwork is completed at 4 field locations: Hoonah USA (Alaska), Chiapas Mexico, Zhetysu Kazakhstan, and Khovd Mongolia. Over 30 structured interview surveys were conducted at each site about traditional ecological knowledge (TEK).
Resources mentioned in the TEK interviews have been ecologically modeled for habitat suitability and abundance both backward and forward in time and under the effects of climate change.
Within the next 12 months we will combine the analysis of TEK with the ecological models, disseminate findings back to the sites, and submit for scientific publications.