SGER: How is Local Ecological Knowledge Transmitted? Exploratory Research Among the Soligas of India

研究人员记录了当地生态知识的无处不在及其在没有现代农业技术或医药的社会中的好处。研究人员还记录了当地生态知识在世界范围内的消失。如果当地的生态知识提供了如此多的好处，为什么它会消失？为了回答这个问题，我们建议在印度西南部的部落Soliga中进行一项研究。Soliga仍然依靠当地的生态知识生存。我们假设，生活中从当地生态知识中受益更多的父母会投入更多资源向孩子传授当地生态知识，而从学校教育中受益更多的父母会减少对当地生态知识的投资，并促进就学。这项研究将以当地生态知识为案例，开发和检验关于文化传播的假设，并对Soliga传播当地知识的途径进行量化分析。这项研究还将为文化人类学博士生提供实践培训和指导研究经验。

Researchers have documented the ubiquity of local ecological knowledge and its benefits in societies without access to modern agricultural technologies or medicine. Researchers have also documented the world-wide disappearance of local ecological knowledge. If local ecological knowledge provides so many benefits, why would it disappear? To answer the question we propose to conduct a study among the Soliga, a tribal group in southwest India. Soliga still depend on local ecological knowledge for their survival. We hypothesize that parents who through their live have benefited more from local ecological knowledge will invest more resources in teaching local ecological knowledge to their children, whereas parents who have benefited more from schooling, will invest less in local ecological knowledge and promote school attendance. The research will develop and test hypotheses about the transmission of culture using local ecological knowledge as a case study and conduct a quantitative analysis of the paths through which the Soliga transmit local knowledge. The research also will provide hands-on training and mentoring research experience for a Ph.D. student in cultural anthropology.