Previous Year Question

The concept of Ecological Transition is associated with the American cultural anthropologist John W. Bennett. He extensively discussed this concept in his book The Ecological Transition: Cultural Anthropology and Human Adaptation, published in 1976 by Pergamon Press. The book examines the changing relationships between human societies, culture, and the natural environment.

Ecological Transition refers to broad historical and social changes in the relationship between human societies and the natural environment. Human societies utilize natural resources through their needs, technologies, economic activities, and social organization. With agricultural expansion, industrialization, and technological development, the nature of environmental utilization and transformation also changes. Bennett's concept helps explain the relationship between human activities and environmental change.

Bennett viewed Human Adaptation not merely as adjustment to natural conditions but also as a process through which social organization, culture, and behaviour transform the environment. According to his approach, human societies develop new opportunities by increasing their utilization of natural resources, but this may also increase their dependence on nature and ecological pressures. The concept is important in Cultural Ecology, Human Ecology, and Environmental Anthropology.

Among the other options, Charles Elton is known for his book Animal Ecology (1927) and his contributions to Food Chains, the Ecological Niche, and the Pyramid of Numbers. Friedrich Ratzel is associated with Anthropogeography and Environmental Determinism.