Which term describes the relationship between culture and environment studied in anthropology?

Cultural ecology is the term that describes the study of the relationship between culture and environment in anthropology. This concept explores how cultural practices, beliefs, and social structures are influenced by the ecological context in which people live. Cultural ecologists examine how humans adapt to their environments and how these adaptations shape their cultural practices.

By focusing on the interaction between culture and the environment, cultural ecology looks at factors such as resource use, subsistence strategies, and settlement patterns. This area of study emphasizes that culture is not static but evolves in response to changing environmental conditions and challenges.

Other concepts, such as structuralism, globalization, and social anthropology, address different aspects of human societies and cultures. While structuralism focuses on underlying structures in human thought and culture, globalization examines the effects of global interconnectedness on cultural exchange. Social anthropology specifically looks at social practices and structures but does not primarily focus on the environmental factors that shape culture. Thus, cultural ecology is the most appropriate term to describe the relationship between culture and environment in the field of anthropology.