Can Ancient Practices be entitled Biodesign? A terminology proposal based on Ancestral Knowledge and Traditional Practices

Abstract

Biodesign characterizes a strategic approach where designers collaborate with living organisms. Despite its classification as an emerging discipline, it bears noting that Indigenous communities have adeptly employed and refined methods similar to Biodesign for centuries. This article endeavours to discern the appropriateness of designating these time-honoured practices as "Biodesign" or to propose a more fitting nomenclature. To this end, worldwide ancestral knowledge and traditional practices were examined to find illustrative examples of those who faced such impasses in categorization. The analyses were complemented by investigating recent instances in the same context within the realms of recent Urbanism and Archeology. While ancestral practices exhibit congruence with contemporary methodologies, distinctions must also be drawn. Consequently, we advocate for using words such as ancestral, vernacular, indigenous, and traditional to accompany the term "Biodesign," or even just Biocraft, delineating ancient practices from their present-day counterparts.