Chiloé : The Ethnobiology of an Island Culture

This volume focuses on the ethnobiology of southern Chile’s Archipelago of Chiloé. Chiloé presents a unique perspective on the intersection of society and biology owing to its vast natural resources, historic culture of cooperation, geographic isolation, and external resource exploitation. Contributions to this volume cover knowledge bases in both marine and terrestrial systems, and how specific local knowledge types contributed to a variety of strategies, including subsistence, social-ecological resilience, resource conservation, cultural heritage preservation, economic systems, and mitigating uncertainty. This book addresses the specificities of human-environment interaction on a resource-rich island, and how historic knowledge and practices can help configure adaptation to a changing social-ecological landscape. Front Matter ....Pages i-ix Chiloé Today and Over the Centuries (Anton Daughters)....Pages 1-20 Local Knowledge, Local Networks, and Successful Cooperative Mussel Aquaculture on Chiloé (Ana Pitchon)....Pages 21-37 Livelihood Diversification as a Form of Resilience? An Ethnographic Account of Artisanal Fishers in Chile’s Lakes Region (Sarah A. Ebel)....Pages 39-52 Food and Culture in Chiloé: Potatoes, Curanto, and Chicha (Anton Daughters)....Pages 53-65 Trueque Chilote: Traditional Barter Networks Connect Nature and Society in Northern Patagonia (Richard A. Vercoe)....Pages 67-89 Seeing the Forest for the Trees: The Firewood Trade in Southern Chile (Eric H. Thomas)....Pages 91-105 How Households Are Made: Marriage, Independence, and Productivity on the Island of Apiao, Chiloé (Giovanna Bacchiddu)....Pages 107-124 Back Matter ....Pages 125-130