Property and ownership claims and the array of ways in which they are operationalized comprise a large portion of our cognitive attention. On a day to day basis there is a need to know what to buy, sell, share, borrow, dispute over, and render away. There remains much that is not yet known about the psychology of ownership and how it plays out in particular cultural settings. This investigation aims to assess whether people in Achuar communities in Ecuador consider food(meat), land, and artifacts to be possible domains of ownership as well as whether intuitions about claims to ownership in these domains, including the principle of first possession, are the same as in an American sample. The vignettes were designed to be culturally appropriate for Achuar participants, in domains including hunting, establishing land claims, and the creating of artifacts. The same Achuar-specific vignettes were presented to a American English speakers in order to gauge if Achuar intuitions about the claims to ownership in these domains are the same as they are in the U.S. The factors on which this study focused its analysis were designed to assess how judgments of ownership depend on the type of resource in question, and how it came to be acquired. Analysis of the findings across domains and populations reveals weak evidence for a first possessor heuristic among the Achuar and strong evidence for a first possessor heuristic with American Mturk Participants, suggesting that this might not be a cross-cultural universal.

The intricate and multifaceted relationship humans share with ownership, whether tangible or intangible, forms the crux of this research. The first chapter investigates the psychology behind the concept of ownership. The universality of first mover norms in ownership, where the first person or the one exerting more effort is seen as the owner, is examined. Through a comparative study between the Achuar adults in Ecuador and an online U.S. sample, it is found that while there is a general lean towards first possessor intuitions, these norms may be more contextually and culturally variable than previously believed. The second chapter delves into the contentious realm of ownership and Intellectual Property (IP). By examining public attitudes across 12 societies spanning 10 countries, the research highlights how these perceptions align or diverge from legal frameworks. The findings illuminate that individuals tend to attribute higher ownership rights to knowledge when it has an innovative origin, revealing a nuanced understanding of what qualifies as "ownable." The final chapter ethnographically anchors this research in an Achuar community, spotlighting the tussle between tradition and modernity in knowledge dissemination and control. As traditional knowledge oscillates between private to public spaces, challenges around intellectual boundaries, authenticity, and commodification arise. The role of technology, both as an enabler and disruptor, further adds complexity to the narrative. The Achuar community's journey exemplifies the broader challenges faced by Indigenous communities globally, as they negotiate identity, sovereignty, and the ethical distribution of knowledge in the digital age. Collectively, this dissertation underscores the need to utilize an anthropological approach to appreciate the dynamic nature of ownership and its profound implications on identity, culture, and legalities in contemporary society.