Ethnobotany of Mexico: Interactions of People and Plants in Mesoamerica

ISBN-13: 9781461466680 / Angielski / Twarda / 2016 / 560 str.

Rafael Lira; Alejandro Casas

Opis

This book reviews the history, current state of knowledge, and different research approaches and techniques of studies on interactions between humans and plants in an important area of agriculture and ongoing plant domestication: Mesoamerica. Leading scholars and key research groups in Mexico discuss essential topics as well as contributions from international research groups that have conducted studies on ethnobotany and domestication of plants in the region. Such a convocation will produce an interesting discussion about future investigation and conservation of regional human cultures, genetic resources, and cultural and ecological processes that are critical for global sustainability. "

Recenzje

"This book is a tour de force. The 59 contributors ... provide a wealth of information in its 22 chapters, each of which is well referenced via footnotes. It presents both introductory and advanced material but also asks important questions about gaps in knowledge; this makes it relevant to undergraduates, postgraduates and postdoctoral scientists/researchers as well as policy makers and anyone concerned with establishing sustainable development." (Dr. A. M. Mannion, British Ecology Society, Vol. 48 (1), April, 2017)

"The editors need to be congratulated for having brought forward a volume that will be the standard for years to come. Policymakers, researchers, and the general public have for the first time a concise but readable overview of the ethnobotany of Mexico. Everyone interested in ethnobotany ... will find a wealth of information in this volume. Overall, Ethnobotany of Mexico is a great example as to how modern ethnobotanical treatises should be structured, and what information they should include." (Economic Botany, Vol. 70 (4), December, 2016)

Spis treści

Part I: History of Ethnobotany in Mexico
Chapter 1. Origins and Development of Mexican Ethnobotany
Abigail Aguilar

Chapter 2. Ethnobotany in México: Historical Trends and Development of Scientific Approaches
Andrés Camou, Alejandro Casas, et al.

Part II: Cultural Approaches in Ethnobotanical Studies
Chapter 3. Cosmos, Corpus, and Praxis: An Integrated Approach of the Study of Plants, Ecosystems, and Societies
Víctor M. Toledo and Narciso Barrera

Chapter 4. Ethnobotany and Mexican Biocultural Patrimony
Eckart Boege

Part III: Ecological Ethnobotany
Chapter 5. Ethnobotanical and Ecological Studies of Plant Populations
Javier Caballero, Rafael Lira et al.

Capítulo 6. Ethnobotanical and Ecological studies of Communities and Ecosystems
Alejandro Casas, Rafael Lira, Ana Isabel Moreno et al.

Part IV: Evolutionary Ethnobotany
Chapter 7. Domestication as an Continuing Process: From Populations to Landcape
Alejandro Casas, Fabiola Parra, Adriana Otero, Xitlali Aguirre, et al.

Chapter 8. Domestication of Annual Plants
Robert Bye, Cristina Mapes, Heike Vibrans, Beatriz Rendón, Rafael Lira, Isabelle Blanckaert,  et al.

Chapter 9. Domestication of Perennial Plants.
Alejandro Casas, Patricia Colunga, Daniel Zizumbo, Fabiola Parra, Xitlali Aguirre

Part V: Plant Resources for the Future
Chapter 10. Useful plants of Mexico
Javier Caballero, Laura Cortés, et al.

Chapter 11. Medicinal Plants
Tzasná Hernández and Abigail Aguilar

Chapter 12. Food Plants
Cristina Mapes, Javier Caballero, Alejandro Casas, José Blancas

Part VI: Ethnobotany and Genetic Resources in México
Chapter 13. Maize
Luis Eguiarte and Daniel Piñero

Chapter 14. Beans
Alfonso Delgado, Paul Gepts, Daniel Debouck, Daniel Zizumbo, Patrícia Colunga, and Jorge Acosta

Chapter 15. Squashes
Rafael Lira, Salvador Montes,

Luis Eguiarte, Daniel Zizumbo, Patricia Colunga, and Mauricio Quesada

Chapter 16. Cotton
Ana Wegier and Daniel Piñero

O autorze

Dr. Rafael Lira
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Laboratorio de Recursos Naturales, Los Reyes Iztacala, Tlanepantla, Mexico

Alejandro Casas, PhD
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

Blurb

This book reviews the history, current state of knowledge, and different research approaches and techniques of studies on the interactions between humans and plants in an important area of agriculture and ongoing plant domestication: Mesoamerica.  Leading scholars and key research groups in Mexico discuss essential topics as well as contributions from international research groups that have conducted studies on ethnobotany and domestication of plants in the region. Such a convocation will produce an interesting discussion about future investigation and conservation of regional human cultures, genetic resources, and cultural and ecological processes that are critical for global sustainability.