Plants, People, and Culture PDF Download

Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download Plants, People, and Culture PDF full book. Access full book title Plants, People, and Culture by Michael J Balick. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.

Plants, People, and Culture

Plants, People, and Culture PDF Author: Michael J Balick
Publisher: Garland Science
ISBN: 1000098486
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 487

Book Description
Is it possible that plants have shaped the very trajectory of human cultures? Using riveting stories of fieldwork in remote villages, two of the world’s leading ethnobotanists argue that our past and our future are deeply intertwined with plants. Creating massive sea craft from plants, indigenous shipwrights spurred the navigation of the world’s oceans. Today, indigenous agricultural innovations continue to feed, clothe, and heal the world’s population. One out of four prescription drugs, for example, were discovered from plants used by traditional healers. Objects as common as baskets for winnowing or wooden boxes to store feathers were ornamented with traditional designs demonstrating the human ability to understand our environment and to perceive the cosmos. Throughout the world, the human body has been used as the ultimate canvas for plant-based adornment as well as indelible design using tattoo inks. Plants also garnered religious significance, both as offerings to the gods and as a doorway into the other world. Indigenous claims that plants themselves are sacred is leading to a startling reformulation of conservation. The authors argue that conservation goals can best be achieved by learning from, rather than opposing, indigenous peoples and their beliefs. KEY FEATURES • An engrossing narrative that invites the reader to personally engage with the relationship between plants, people, and culture • Full-color illustrations throughout—including many original photographs captured by the authors during fieldwork • New to this edition—"Plants That Harm," a chapter that examines the dangers of poisonous plants and the promise that their study holds for novel treatments for some of our most serious diseases, including Alzheimer’s and substance addiction • Additional readings at the end of each chapter to encourage further exploration • Boxed features on selected topics that offer further insight • Provocative questions to facilitate group discussion Designed for the college classroom as well as for lay readers, this update of Plants, People, and Culture entices the reader with firsthand stories of fieldwork, spectacular illustrations, and a deep respect for both indigenous peoples and the earth’s natural heritage.

Plants, People, and Culture

Plants, People, and Culture PDF Author: Michael J Balick
Publisher: Garland Science
ISBN: 1000098486
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 487

Book Description
Is it possible that plants have shaped the very trajectory of human cultures? Using riveting stories of fieldwork in remote villages, two of the world’s leading ethnobotanists argue that our past and our future are deeply intertwined with plants. Creating massive sea craft from plants, indigenous shipwrights spurred the navigation of the world’s oceans. Today, indigenous agricultural innovations continue to feed, clothe, and heal the world’s population. One out of four prescription drugs, for example, were discovered from plants used by traditional healers. Objects as common as baskets for winnowing or wooden boxes to store feathers were ornamented with traditional designs demonstrating the human ability to understand our environment and to perceive the cosmos. Throughout the world, the human body has been used as the ultimate canvas for plant-based adornment as well as indelible design using tattoo inks. Plants also garnered religious significance, both as offerings to the gods and as a doorway into the other world. Indigenous claims that plants themselves are sacred is leading to a startling reformulation of conservation. The authors argue that conservation goals can best be achieved by learning from, rather than opposing, indigenous peoples and their beliefs. KEY FEATURES • An engrossing narrative that invites the reader to personally engage with the relationship between plants, people, and culture • Full-color illustrations throughout—including many original photographs captured by the authors during fieldwork • New to this edition—"Plants That Harm," a chapter that examines the dangers of poisonous plants and the promise that their study holds for novel treatments for some of our most serious diseases, including Alzheimer’s and substance addiction • Additional readings at the end of each chapter to encourage further exploration • Boxed features on selected topics that offer further insight • Provocative questions to facilitate group discussion Designed for the college classroom as well as for lay readers, this update of Plants, People, and Culture entices the reader with firsthand stories of fieldwork, spectacular illustrations, and a deep respect for both indigenous peoples and the earth’s natural heritage.

Ethnobotany, Volume 2

Ethnobotany, Volume 2 PDF Author: Dr. Suresh Kumar
Publisher: Kojo Press
ISBN: 819338055X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 214

Book Description
Ethnobotany deals with relationship between people and plants. Since ancient times plants were used to cure all types of illness and diseases all over the world. The traditional knowledge of medicincal valued plants communicated from one generation to another generation and plays a significant role in the development of traditional medicines. The ethnobotanical research provides information about medicinal plants that can cure fatal diseases. This book has fourteen chapters that include various aspect of Ethnobotany viz: Introduction to Ethnobotany; Ethnobotany: Past, Present and Future; Ethnobotany and Ayurveda; Important Sacred Plants in India; Grace of Butter tree; Diversity, Indigenous use of the Ethnomedicinal flora of various plants of India; Ethnobotany and Modern system of Medicine; Plants of folklore from myth to magic; Different tribal committee of India and Historical journey and its prospective in India. This book is highly relevant to innovated and enhance knowledge about Ethnobotany and helpful for undergraduate, post-graduate students, research scholars and faculty. The book incorporates chapters authored by eminent botanists who are working in the field of Ethnobotany since a long time.

Ethnobotany in the New Europe

Ethnobotany in the New Europe PDF Author: Manuel Pardo-de-Santayana
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1845458141
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 408

Book Description
The study of European wild food plants and herbal medicines is an old discipline that has been invigorated by a new generation of researchers pursuing ethnobotanical studies in fresh contexts. Modern botanical and medical science itself was built on studies of Medieval Europeans’ use of food plants and medicinal herbs. In spite of monumental changes introduced in the Age of Discovery and Mercantile Capitalism, some communities, often of immigrants in foreign lands, continue to hold on to old recipes and traditions, while others have adopted and enculturated exotic plants and remedies into their diets and pharmacopoeia in new and creative ways. Now in the 21st century, in the age of the European Union and Globalization, European folk botany is once again dynamically responding to changing cultural, economic, and political contexts. The authors and studies presented in this book reflect work being conducted across Europe’s many regions. They tell the story of the on-going evolution of human-plant relations in one of the most bioculturally dynamic places on the planet, and explore new approaches that link the re-evaluation of plant-based cultural heritage with the conservation and use of biocultural diversity.

Ethnobotany of Palau, Plants, People and Island Culture--Volume 2

Ethnobotany of Palau, Plants, People and Island Culture--Volume 2 PDF Author: Ann Hillmann Kitalong
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 392

Book Description
Ethnobotany of Palau is a two-volume series that examines the relationship between plants, people and traditional culture in the Republic of Palau. Palau is a place where cultural traditions are still intact, including respect for the environment, a value foundational to Palauan society. Based on a decade of field studies that began in 2007 as part of the Plants and People of Micronesia Program, it builds on prior studies of the Palauan flora, and emphasizes the biocultural diversity and wisdom of the Palauan people and their environment. The research included studies of botany, traditional uses of plants, resource management, phytochemistry, conservation and other topics intended to help support "cultural memory" for the people of Palau and the generations who will follow. These volumes result from a collaboration and partnership of the Belau National Museum, the New York Botanical Garden, National Tropical Botanical Garden and other institutions, communities and civic groups involving more than 75 individuals--plant collectors, local experts and ethnobotanical contributors. Volume 2 is an ethnobotanical compendium of information on local uses of plants, contributed by the community, as well as an updated checklist of the vascular plants of Palau. Individual indexes for each volume direct the reader to the material contained in that particular book, so that they can be used separately as needed.

Ethnobotany of Pohnpei

Ethnobotany of Pohnpei PDF Author: Michael J. Balick
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824837495
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 610

Book Description
Ethnobotany of Pohnpei examines the relationship between plants, people, and traditional culture on Pohnpei, one of the four island members of the Federated States of Micronesia. Traditional culture is still very strong on Pohnpei and is biodiversity-dependent, relying on both its pristine habitats and managed landscapes; native and introduced plants and animals; and extraordinary marine life. This book is the result of a decade of research by a team of local people and international specialists carried out under the direction of the Mwoalen Wahu Ileilehn Pohnpei (Pohnpei Council of Traditional Leaders). It discusses the uses of the native and introduced plant species that have sustained human life on the island and its outlying atolls for generations, including Piper methysticum (locally known as sakau and recognized throughout the Pacific as kava), which is essential in defining cultural identity for Pohnpeians. The work also focuses on ethnomedicine, the traditional medical system used to address health conditions, and its associated beliefs. Pohnpei, and indeed the Micronesian region, is one of the world’s great centers of botanical endemism: it is home to many plant species found nowhere else on earth. The ultimate goal of this volume is to give readers a sense of the traditional ethnobotanical knowledge that still exists in the area, to make them aware of its vulnerability to modernization, and to encourage local people to respect this ancient knowledge and keep such practices alive. It presents the findings of the most comprehensive ethnobotanical study undertaken to date in this part of Micronesia and sets a new standard for transdisciplinary research and collaboration.

Ethnobotany of Palau

Ethnobotany of Palau PDF Author: Ann Hillmann Kitalong
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
Ethnobotany of Palau is a two-volume series that examines the relationship between plants, people and traditional culture in the Republic of Palau. Palau is a place where cultural traditions are still intact, including respect for the environment, a value foundational to Palauan society. Based on a decade of field studies that began in 2007 as part of the Plants and People of Micronesia Program, it builds on prior studies of the Palauan flora, and emphasizes the biocultural diversity and wisdom of the Palauan people and their environment. The research included studies of botany, traditional uses of plants, resource management, phytochemistry, conservation and other topics intended to help support "cultural memory" for the people of Palau and the generations who will follow. These volumes result from a collaboration and partnership of the Belau National Museum, the New York Botanical Garden, National Tropical Botanical Garden and other institutions, communities and civic groups involving more than 75 individuals--plant collectors, local experts and ethnobotanical contributors. Volume 1 contains an introductory chapter on Palau and its environment, followed by a study of human impact on the landscape; the role of plants throughout Palauan life, from birth to death; the bai, a structure essential to Palauan culture; the relationship of people to the ocean that surrounds them; the importance of dait (Colocasia esculenta), a plant key to sustaining Palauan culture; the importance of traditional medicine; and, ethnomedical and phytochemical studies of Palauan plants.

The Ethnobotany of Eden

The Ethnobotany of Eden PDF Author: Robert A. Voeks
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022654785X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 334

Book Description
In the mysterious and pristine forests of the tropics, a wealth of ethnobotanical panaceas and shamanic knowledge promises cures for everything from cancer and AIDS to the common cold. To access such miracles, we need only to discover and protect these medicinal treasures before they succumb to the corrosive forces of the modern world. A compelling biocultural story, certainly, and a popular perspective on the lands and peoples of equatorial latitudes—but true? Only in part. In The Ethnobotany of Eden, geographer Robert A. Voeks unravels the long lianas of history and occasional strands of truth that gave rise to this irresistible jungle medicine narrative. By exploring the interconnected worlds of anthropology, botany, and geography, Voeks shows that well-intentioned scientists and environmentalists originally crafted the jungle narrative with the primary goal of saving the world’s tropical rainforests from destruction. It was a strategy deployed to address a pressing environmental problem, one that appeared at a propitious point in history just as the Western world was taking a more globalized view of environmental issues. And yet, although supported by science and its practitioners, the story was also underpinned by a persuasive mix of myth, sentimentality, and nostalgia for a long-lost tropical Eden. Resurrecting the fascinating history of plant prospecting in the tropics, from the colonial era to the present day, The Ethnobotany of Eden rewrites with modern science the degradation narrative we’ve built up around tropical forests, revealing the entangled origins of our fables of forest cures.

Native American Ethnobotany

Native American Ethnobotany PDF Author: Daniel E. Moerman
Publisher: Timber Press (OR)
ISBN: 9780881924534
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 927

Book Description
An extraordinary compilation of the plants used by North American native peoples for medicine, food, fiber, dye, and a host of other things. Anthropologist Daniel E. Moerman has devoted 25 years to the task of gathering together the accumulated ethnobotanical knowledge on more than 4000 plants. More than 44,000 uses for these plants by various tribes are documented here. This is undoubtedly the most massive ethnobotanical survey ever undertaken, preserving an enormous store of information for the future.

Cannabis

Cannabis PDF Author: Robert Clarke
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520292480
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 452

Book Description
Cannabis: Evolution and Ethnobotany is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary exploration of the natural origins and early evolution of this famous plant, highlighting its historic role in the development of human societies. Cannabis has long been prized for the strong and durable fiber in its stalks, its edible and oil-rich seeds, and the psychoactive and medicinal compounds produced by its female flowers. The culturally valuable and often irreplaceable goods derived from cannabis deeply influenced the commercial, medical, ritual, and religious practices of cultures throughout the ages, and human desire for these commodities directed the evolution of the plant toward its contemporary varieties. As interest in cannabis grows and public debate over its many uses rises, this book will help us understand why humanity continues to rely on this plant and adapts it to suit our needs.

Florida Ethnobotany

Florida Ethnobotany PDF Author: Daniel F. Austin
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 9780849323324
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 952

Book Description
Winner of the 2005 Klinger Book Award Presented by The Society for Economic Botany. Florida Ethnobotany provides a cross-cultural examination of how the state’s native plants have been used by its various peoples. This compilation includes common names of plants in their historical sequence, weaving together what was formerly esoteric information about each species into a full reference. The author accomplishes the monumental task of translating the common names of species, which offers insight into plant usage and a glimpse into the culture of each ethnic group or tribe. These common botanical names often demonstrate how individuals fit into their societies and how these societies functioned. Although there have been previous studies of plants used by the inhabitants of Florida, this is the first comprehensive synthesis of this flora-rich region that was so pivotal in the history of New World exploration.