Cognitive Aspects of Intergenerational Change: Mental Models, Cultural Change, and Environmental Behavior among the Lacandon Maya of Southern Mexico

The life of the Lacandon Maya of Mensäbäk (Chiapas, Mexico) has undergone tremendous changes in the last 30 years. These changes are manifested in a generational split in social relations, household location, and economic behavior. The changes affecting social life as well as decision-making processes are paralleled by changes in environmental cognition among the adult members of the community. Older individuals reveal a systematic awareness of the ecological complexity involving animals and plants of the rainforest. The data suggest that the emerging patterns of change are not due to different stages of development-- from novice to expert--nor do they seem to be reversible. Rather, they indicate an intricate system that closely links culture, cognition, and behavior.