ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a definition of traditional ecological knowledge, contrasted with scientific ecological knowledge. The history of scientific ecological knowledge is reviewed beginning with the Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato, which then moves into the history of the Catholic Church. In short, for ten centuries European scholars taught that evolution did not exist. The motives and consequences are briefly reviewed. A short history of the Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, Enlightenment, and Industrial Revolution is then provided as a way of explaining what broke the long-standing paradigm. The 1700s can be described as the age of exploration and natural history, the 1800s as the age of evolution, and the 1900s as the age of the environment. The chapter finishes with another comparison between SEK and TEK, one as the wolf and the other as the raven.
