Download Ethnobotany Winter Term 2008

Ethnobotany
Spring Term 2017
By Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Course Information
• http://courses.knox.edu/bio320
Books on Reserve
And another book on reserve
What is Ethnobotany?
• Ethnobotany is the
study of plants used by
primitive and aboriginal
people. – John W.
Harshberger 1895
What is Ethnobotany?
• A better definition is:
Ethnobotany is the study
of the interactions of
plants and people,
including the influence
of plants on human
culture.
Oaxaca, Mexico
Two Aims of Ethnobotany Are:
1) To document facts
about plant use and
plant management
2) To elucidate the
ethnobotanical text by
defining, describing
and investigating
ethnobotanical roles
and processes
- Janis Alcorn, 1995
Alcorn in field in Bolivia
Indigenous
Traditional People Pakistan
• from the Latin – Indigena – native or long-adapted to
an area
How many years in residence does it
take to become indigenous?
Navajo – 16th Century
Ojibwa – about 1600
Maasai – late 17th Century
Folk Botany
Why study use of plants by
indigenous people?
1. The relationships
between plants and
people are often clearer
in indigenous societies
than in westernized
societies
Collecting data in Polynesia
How is a pencil made?
Or a roll of toilet paper?
Or a t-shirt?
Or even corn starch?
Why study use of plants by
indigenous people?
2. Indigenous cultures
may represent living
analogues of the
prehistorical stages of
western civilization
Greek bas relief
Why study use of plants by
indigenous people?
3. Indigenous cultures
retain much knowledge
concerning plants that
western peoples have
largely lost
Ethnobotany class sampling teas
Why study use of plants by
indigenous people?
4. Indigenous peoples are
stewards of some of the
most sensitive
ecosystems on earth
Amazonian Shaman
Why study use of plants by
indigenous people?
5. Indigenous people are
very vulnerable to rapid
cultural and economic
change - understanding
traditional ways,
including use of plants,
can point to strategies to
minimize negative
consequences of that
change
Native Australian Painting
Ethnobotanical study of traditional
cooking methods in Texas
From ethnobotanist Phil Deering
What is this plant good for?
Echinacea pallida – Pale Purple Coneflower
Perhaps medicine
Considering what a plant is good for
leads to other questions
• Where does the plant normally occur?
• How is the plant cultivated?
• Can we combine natural occurrence and cultivation in a
mutually beneficial system?
Why are plants so vital?
Because Plants are Producers.
Van Helmont
Plant Chemistry