Ethnobiological Classification

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The book explores the consistent patterns in how traditional, nonliterate societies classify and name plants and animals, revealing a universal human tendency to recognize natural affinities among organisms. Brent Berlin argues that these classifications arise independently of their practical uses or symbolic meanings, challenging the view that cultural constructs solely shape our understanding of reality. The work is divided into two parts: the first analyzes individual ethnobiological systems, while the second examines the processes that drive the evolution of these classification systems.