About this issue
Like any other species, humans survive and thrive by adapting to their environments—but we also actively alter the spaces we live in. Through this process, called human niche construction, we make our world more habitable and comfortable for ourselves…and the other species that share our environment, whether we intend it or not. This volume explores some of the diverse niches created by humans in different times and places. The essays span the globe, from Texas to China, from Scandinavia to Papua New Guinea, exploring agricultural spaces and indoor biomes, human aesthetics, and Anthropocentric perspectives.
How to cite: Ertsen, Maurits W., Christof Mauch, and Edmund Russell, eds. “Molding the Planet: Human Niche Construction at Work,” RCC Perspectives: Transformations in Environment and Society 2016, no. 5. doi.org/10.5282/rcc/7723.
Content
- Foreword by Maurits W. Ertsen
- Introduction by Maurits W. Ertsen, Christof Mauch, and Edmund Russell
- How Did Cows Construct the American Cowboy? by Timothy J. LeCain
- How Do Humans and Locusts Make Space in an Early Modern Chinese Grain Field? by David A. Bello
- How Did Infields Shape the Scandinavian Cultural Landscape? by Ove Eriksson and Matilda Arnell
- Why Do Human Perceptions of Beauty Change? The Construction of the Aesthetic Niche by Mariagrazia Portera
- How Does Architecture Affect the Evolution of Other Species? by Laura Jane Martin
- How Can Archaeology Help Us Unravel the Anthropocene? by Sjoerd J. Kluiving and Arthur Hamel
- Why Is Human Niche Construction Transforming Planet Earth? by Erle C. Ellis
