Cultural Landscapes and Biocultural Heritage
Cultural Landscapes and Biocultural Heritage
Session Type:
Oral
Session Date and Time:
Friday, 22 May, 2026 - 10:40 to 12:20
Primary Organizer/Session Chair:
Steve Wolverton
Presentations
Abstract
10:40
Presentation Format:
Oral (in-person)
The Hualapai Indian Tribe of Northwestern Arizona is located amid the Eastern extent of the Mojave Desert within the Basin and Range Geological Province. The valleys that sit within adjacent mountain ranges contain a rich history of Hualapai Tribal seed harvesting practices that became forever changed by colonial pressures. The disastrous effects of cattle grazing on Hualapai Tribal seed gathering sites was recognized by Anglo-Americans by the late 1800’s after less than a decade of ranching. An excerpt from a local newspaper in 1882 reported: “Even the grass that once furnished an abundance of seeds, which were used as food, is now closely cropped by the white man’s stock, and this source of a food supply was well nigh exhausted.” This presentation will explore the ethnobotanical story of Hualapai traditional seed harvesting knowledge examining ethnographic sources, archaeological evidence, and contemporary ethnohistories.
11:00
Presentation Format:
Oral (in-person)
In the 1960s, the Puak Belait community abandoned their swamp-dominated cultural landscape in Kuala Balai, Brunei Darussalam, and migrated locally to the Seria town pursuing economic opportunities provided by the oil and gas boom. Their erstwhile homeland, shaped by their cultural practices, is being reclaimed by the swamp forests. However, the cultural influence of the community on the landscape remains indelible, just like the continuing reverence for the latter in the community’s collective memory. Drawing insights from an ongoing collaborative project, I propose to characterize Kuala Balai as a cultural landscape. I will then discuss the selective memories of the cultural landscape and vegetation that continue to shape landscape meanings, fostering community identity. Finally, I will summarize the factors challenging community efforts to renew their physical ties with their home landscape, which is essential for the very survival of the cultural landscape.
11:20
Presentation Format:
Oral (in-person)
I assume that publications like Audubon, National Geographic, National Parks, Sierra, Smithsonian, and our own Journal of Ethnobiology aim to present scientifically accurate facts. But all of these and many others have reported that the lcoation and customs of particular ethnic groups have not changed for millennia. Such statements are not scientific. They are impossible to prove and highly unlikely to be true. Even if DNA from a site might connect it with living people, there is no way to prove who these people were. Even with all that is known about Stonehenge, we do not know what culture built it. The best information we have often relates to language relationships, but this cannot identify a specific people. Such information before written records is beyond scientific recovery. Furthermore, knowing how cultures have changed through the years, it is highly unlikely that any culture would remain unmoved and unchanged for millennia.
11:40
Presentation Format:
Oral (virtual)
The intimate relationships between humans, livestock, plants, and microbial life in agro-pastoral communities of southern Ethiopia are mediated by water. Among the Hamar of South Omo, milk production, preservation, and storage are embedded within biocultural systems shaped by seasonal water availability, mobility, and Indigenous knowledge. This paper examines the ethnobiology of herbal smoking of gourds, an ancient milk preservation practice that uses aromatic and antimicrobial plants to sanitise containers, extend milk shelf life, and maintain food safety in water-scarce environments. We situate this adaptive practice within broader waterscape relations by comparing it with the milk-preservation techniques of the agro-pastoralist Mursi to the north. This paper highlights how Indigenous ecological knowledge contributes to microbial management, food security, and socioecological resilience amid new waterscapes (irrigation dams), climatic variability and water insecurity, offering insights into Indigenous dairy technologies relevant to water stewardship and the protection of biocultural diversity in agro-pastoral regions of South Omo.
12:00
Presentation Format:
Oral (virtual)
This research aims to explore the existence of the Ruwatan tradition as a form of integration between nature and humanity. Currently, the Ruwatan tradition is fading, evidenced by its decreasing frequency in Javanese villages, Indonesia. The bond between nature and humans is not only described through prayers and offerings but is deeply rooted in life philosophy, self-respect, environmental appreciation, and tangible conservation efforts. The community in Bulukerto Village, Bumiaji District, Batu City, East Java, demonstrates a profound concern for the sustainability of this tradition as a core element of their identity as farmers. Participatory methods were used to explore ritual symbolism and the community’s deep connection to their vital natural landscapes. Through this tradition, the community gains a sense of dignity as a unified entity of nature and humanity, a practical integration that has been implemented for centuries.
Presentations
| Abstract | |
|---|---|
| 10:40 |
Presentation Format:
Oral (in-person)
The Hualapai Indian Tribe of Northwestern Arizona is located amid the Eastern extent of the Mojave Desert within the Basin and Range Geological Province. The valleys that sit within adjacent mountain ranges contain a rich history of Hualapai Tribal seed harvesting practices that became forever changed by colonial pressures. The disastrous effects of cattle grazing on Hualapai Tribal seed gathering sites was recognized by Anglo-Americans by the late 1800’s after less than a decade of ranching. An excerpt from a local newspaper in 1882 reported: “Even the grass that once furnished an abundance of seeds, which were used as food, is now closely cropped by the white man’s stock, and this source of a food supply was well nigh exhausted.” This presentation will explore the ethnobotanical story of Hualapai traditional seed harvesting knowledge examining ethnographic sources, archaeological evidence, and contemporary ethnohistories. |
| 11:00 |
Presentation Format:
Oral (in-person)
In the 1960s, the Puak Belait community abandoned their swamp-dominated cultural landscape in Kuala Balai, Brunei Darussalam, and migrated locally to the Seria town pursuing economic opportunities provided by the oil and gas boom. Their erstwhile homeland, shaped by their cultural practices, is being reclaimed by the swamp forests. However, the cultural influence of the community on the landscape remains indelible, just like the continuing reverence for the latter in the community’s collective memory. Drawing insights from an ongoing collaborative project, I propose to characterize Kuala Balai as a cultural landscape. I will then discuss the selective memories of the cultural landscape and vegetation that continue to shape landscape meanings, fostering community identity. Finally, I will summarize the factors challenging community efforts to renew their physical ties with their home landscape, which is essential for the very survival of the cultural landscape. |
| 11:20 |
Presentation Format:
Oral (in-person)
I assume that publications like Audubon, National Geographic, National Parks, Sierra, Smithsonian, and our own Journal of Ethnobiology aim to present scientifically accurate facts. But all of these and many others have reported that the lcoation and customs of particular ethnic groups have not changed for millennia. Such statements are not scientific. They are impossible to prove and highly unlikely to be true. Even if DNA from a site might connect it with living people, there is no way to prove who these people were. Even with all that is known about Stonehenge, we do not know what culture built it. The best information we have often relates to language relationships, but this cannot identify a specific people. Such information before written records is beyond scientific recovery. Furthermore, knowing how cultures have changed through the years, it is highly unlikely that any culture would remain unmoved and unchanged for millennia. |
| 11:40 |
Presentation Format:
Oral (virtual)
The intimate relationships between humans, livestock, plants, and microbial life in agro-pastoral communities of southern Ethiopia are mediated by water. Among the Hamar of South Omo, milk production, preservation, and storage are embedded within biocultural systems shaped by seasonal water availability, mobility, and Indigenous knowledge. This paper examines the ethnobiology of herbal smoking of gourds, an ancient milk preservation practice that uses aromatic and antimicrobial plants to sanitise containers, extend milk shelf life, and maintain food safety in water-scarce environments. We situate this adaptive practice within broader waterscape relations by comparing it with the milk-preservation techniques of the agro-pastoralist Mursi to the north. This paper highlights how Indigenous ecological knowledge contributes to microbial management, food security, and socioecological resilience amid new waterscapes (irrigation dams), climatic variability and water insecurity, offering insights into Indigenous dairy technologies relevant to water stewardship and the protection of biocultural diversity in agro-pastoral regions of South Omo. |
| 12:00 |
Presentation Format:
Oral (virtual)
This research aims to explore the existence of the Ruwatan tradition as a form of integration between nature and humanity. Currently, the Ruwatan tradition is fading, evidenced by its decreasing frequency in Javanese villages, Indonesia. The bond between nature and humans is not only described through prayers and offerings but is deeply rooted in life philosophy, self-respect, environmental appreciation, and tangible conservation efforts. The community in Bulukerto Village, Bumiaji District, Batu City, East Java, demonstrates a profound concern for the sustainability of this tradition as a core element of their identity as farmers. Participatory methods were used to explore ritual symbolism and the community’s deep connection to their vital natural landscapes. Through this tradition, the community gains a sense of dignity as a unified entity of nature and humanity, a practical integration that has been implemented for centuries. |