The Future of Ethnobotany

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The Future of Ethnobotany
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What is Ethnobotany?

• Ethnobotany is the study of the interactions of
  plants and people, including the influence of
  plants on human culture.

Oaxaca, Mexico
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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

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Problems with Funding Ethnobotanical Research
Sir Ghillean Prance Robert Carneiro
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Map of Indian Groups in Eastern Amazonia
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The Kuikuru People
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Ethnoecology
Bolivia
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Ethnoecology

• Ethnoecology is the study of the way different
  groups of people in different locations
  understand their environment and their
  relationship within it. It seeks to understand
  how we as humans have interacted with the
  environment and how these intricate relationships
  have been sustained over time.
• Often referred to as Traditional Ecological
  Knowledge (TEK)

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The Kayapo People
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Kayapo Chiefs
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Pourouma cecropiaefolia uvilla or tree grape
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Poraquieba sericea - umari
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Terra preta dos Indios Indian black earth
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Terra preta dos Indios Indian black earth
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Campesino Culture
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Campesino Culture

• One of the most neglected areas of study today is
  the use of plants by the campesinos, caboclos,
  mestizos, peasants, or whatever the group of
  poor, traditional farmers is called locally (Hill
  People in Appalachia).
• They often have an extensive knowledge of plants
  and of management of the environment in which
  they live.
• They are in contact with modern foods and
  medicines, but often cant afford them, and so by
  necessity are required to widely use local food
  plants and to maintain large plant pharmacopeias
  and to use native plant remedies.

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Campesino Culture
Trinidad Cuba
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Caboclos People of the Amazon
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Ver-o-Peso Market Belem, Brazil
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Ver-o-Peso Market Belem, Brazil
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Ver-o-Peso Market Belem, Brazil
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Our Rapidly Changing World