* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Ethnobotany Winter Term 2008
Survey
Document related concepts
Plant tolerance to herbivory wikipedia , lookup
Indigenous horticulture wikipedia , lookup
Venus flytrap wikipedia , lookup
Plant defense against herbivory wikipedia , lookup
History of herbalism wikipedia , lookup
Ornamental bulbous plant wikipedia , lookup
Flowering plant wikipedia , lookup
Plant use of endophytic fungi in defense wikipedia , lookup
Cultivated plant taxonomy wikipedia , lookup
History of botany wikipedia , lookup
Plant morphology wikipedia , lookup
Historia Plantarum (Theophrastus) wikipedia , lookup
Plant physiology wikipedia , lookup
Embryophyte wikipedia , lookup
Transcript
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