Showing papers in "Ethnobiology Letters in 2018"

Ethnobotany and Agrobiodiversity: Valuation of Plants in the Homegardens of Southwestern Uganda

Abstract: Homegardens are species-rich agroforestry systems with a high diversity of associated traditional knowledge. These systems are an important part of food security for rural marginalized poor around the world, particularly in the humid tropics. Despite the high diversity and cultural importance, little is known about the livelihood-relevant plant diversity contained in the homegardens of southwestern Uganda. Here we employ the quantitative ethnobotany indices use reports (UR) and the cultural importance index (CI) to describe the importance of plants and plant types in the region’s homegardens. Data is based on inventories of 102 homegardens in the Greater Bushenyi from 2014 and reveals 225 useful plant species in 14 different use categories with 3,961 UR, 54% for food, 15% for economic uses, and 11% for medicine. The findings highlight the importance of homegarden plants for subsistence farming households and indicate that they are important places for conservation of botanical agrobiodiversity that should be considered part of the conservation movement in Uganda. Efforts to conserve both botanical and food system diversity in the extremely rich but rapidly deteriorating regional socio-cultural and ecological systems should consider homegardens for their role in conservation of plants and preservation of traditional knowledge.

The Archaeobotany and Ethnobotany of Portuguese or White Crowberry (Corema album)

Abstract: Portuguese crowberry (Corema album (L.) D. Don) is a shrub considered endemic to the Atlantic coastal dunes of the Iberian Peninsula. For many reasons, among which the most prominent are habitat loss and competition from invasive species, but possibly also due to overexploitation, the survival of several of its populations is now compromised. By promoting the identification of its archaeobotanical remains and gathering information about its past uses, the current need for conservation is emphasized. The plant has been exploited for its berries since at least the Early Neolithic and the species features in a number of historical written sources. Archaeological sites located within its current natural distribution area have yielded relatively abundant archaeobotanical finds. This evidence suggests that its distribution area was much larger in the past and has decreased rapidly in recent decades. Its archaeological importance may be misrepresented due to issues with identification, particularly outside its current distribution area. It is hoped that this paper will contribute to a higher identification rate of archaeobotanical remains of this plant, eventually leading to a more thorough recognition of its past importance and contributing to its present conservation.

Does Cognition Still Matter in Ethnobiology

Abstract: Ethnobiology has become increasingly concerned with applied and normative questions about biocultural diversity and the livelihoods of local communities. While this development has created new opportunities for connecting ethnobiological research with ecological and social sciences, it also raises questions about the role of cognitive perspectives in current ethnobiology. In fact, there are clear signs of institutional separation as research on folkbiological cognition has increasingly found its home in the cognitive science community, weakening its ties to institutionalized ethnobiology. Rather than accepting this separation as inevitable disciplinary specialization, this short perspective article argues for a systemic perspective that addresses mutual influences and causal entanglement of cognitive and non-cognitive factors in socio-ecological dynamics. Such an integrative perspective requires a new conversation about cognition in ethnobiology beyond traditional polarization around issues of cognitive universals and cultural relativity.

Plant-Based Solutions to Global Livestock Anthelmintic Resistance

Abstract: Anthelmintic resistance in livestock is increasing globally. Livestock intestinal parasites now develop resistance to synthetic anthelmintics within 2–10 years, collectively costing billions of dollars annually in lost revenue around the world. Over-reliance on commercial drugs and dips and changes in livestock management practices are key drivers of this trend. To date, current research has focused on identifying new anthelmintics from bacterial and fungal sources or even synthesizing new drugs that target parasite metabolism or reproduction. Plant-derived anthelmintics are a promising alternative, yet to date major research funders and scientists have overlooked this option. Until the mid-20th century, rural communities relied on plant-based methods of controlling livestock parasites. These methods include feeding livestock specific medicinal plants and trees, grazing livestock on herbal leys, and changing where livestock grazed based on ecological factors (e.g., flooding) that increased parasite burdens. Many historic texts and ethnological accounts record the ethnobotanical knowledge of rural communities and the plants they used to control livestock intestinal parasites. Some traditions persist today yet the farmers, graziers, and shepherds who hold this knowledge are rapidly disappearing and with them perhaps a potential long-term solution to anthelmintic resistance. This short perspective piece will cover recent research using ethnobotanical data as a means to identifying potential new anthelmintics; the morphological, physiological, and metabolic effect of plant secondary metabolites on parasites; and an overview of “best practices” which can reduce bias in assessments of plant bioactivity and increase reproducibility of test results. This will hopefully bring recent advances in ethnobiology, chemistry, and ecology to new audiences, and, potentially, spark new interest in using medicinal plants to improve livestock health.

An Evaluation of the Contemporary Uses and Cultural Significance of Mammals in Mexico

Abstract: We evaluated current uses of wild mammals by indigenous and mestizo communities in Mexico by extracting data from 59 sources published or produced between 1987–2017, covering data from 240 localities and 3,905 questionnaires. We then calculated a Cultural Value Index (CVI) previously applied to plants to quantify resource use and assess the cultural significance of each mammal. A total of 82 species were reported, and the animals with the highest cultural importance according to their CVI (in brackets) were two species of deer (Odocoileus virginianus [18.32] and Mazama temama [10.04]), as well as the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus [14.18]), white-nosed coati (Nasua narica [14.75]), collared peccary (Pecari tajaccu [11.90]), northern raccoon (Procyon lotor [11.28]) and spotted paca (Cuniculus paca [9.84]). The most common uses were for food, to reduce the damage or harm they cause, and for medicinal purposes, with O. virginianus, P. lotor, N. narica, and D. novemcinctus frequently hunted for all these reasons. Our analysis also highlighted the hunting of rarer species of national conservation concern, including commercial trading of body parts of the felids Panthera onca, Leopardus pardalis, and Leopardus wiedii. By quantifying the ethnozoological significance of wildlife to indigenous communities, indices such as CVI provide a robust measure of the extent of use and preference for particular species or taxa. This adds to the body of evidence used to develop effective regulations and laws related to harvesting and hunting, and helps promote a more sustainable and long-term approach to the use of natural resources.

Taking an Early Step in Ethnobiological Research: A Proposal for Obtaining Prior and Informed Consent from Indigenous Peoples

Abstract: Based on my own experiences from the field, in this paper I reflect on my work in Bolivia and Guatemala, collaborating with the Tsimane’ and Q’eqchi’ peoples, respectively. The aim of this reflection is to propose a set of guidelines for an early step in ethnobiological research. I understand an early step of research to be obtaining prior, informed consent of the peoples with whom we collaborate; a step I argue should be formalized and included as part of research proposals and documents (publications) resulting from the research. This guideline is offered simply as a reference for encouraging researchers to engage with the collaborating communities in a proper, ethical, and respectful way as a first step in our fieldwork. This proposed guideline, while motivating researchers to engage in this process, also encourages them to adapt and modify the guideline to the particular local situation where the planned research will take place. The proposal responds to local customs and traditions, while also following critical ethical guidelines for ethnobiological research, as well as national and international policy relevant to our field of research. It is therefore relevant to any region and community of collaborators where research takes place.

Using Ethnotaxonomy to Assess Traditional Knowledge and Language Vitality: A Case Study with the Vaie People of Sarawak, Malaysia

Abstract: This article demonstrates the potential of using ethnotaxonomy and nomenclature to assess the vitality status of indigenous languages and traditional knowledge at the ecosystem level. We collaborated with the Vaie people of Sarawak, Malaysia, applying a mixed methodology approach that relies on free-listing to a large extent. We applied the Traditional Knowledge and Language Vitality (TraLaVi) index to assess traditional knowledge and language vitality against five major parameters, specifically: language priority, retrieval of information, knowledge erosion, lexical recognition, and social support for exchange of traditional knowledge. The results show that with a TraLaVi score of 0.84, the Vaie language can be considered “safe”. Individuals practicing the traditional occupation of fishing fared better (mean=0.90) than those of the non-fishermen group (mean=0.77). However, when the language vitality was assessed using the Language Vitality and Endangerment assessment tool of UNESCO, the results indicate that the Vaie language could potentially be in the “unsafe” zone, highlighting the differences between the ecosystem based approach of the TraLaVi and the macro-approach of UNESCO. However, these approaches can be applied in a complementary manner to generate a more accurate portrayal of the language vitality scenario.

Vanilla Landscapes: Meaning, Memory, and the Cultivation of Place in Madagascar. By Sarah R. Osterhoudt. 2017. NYBG Press, Bronx, NY. 180 pp.

Abstract: symbolic and sensory portals into the histories of peoples’ lives and of the community, spanning not only annual cycles of cultivation but also generations. This addresses her multi-layered research questions that ask how people at once cultivate crops, meaning, and memories within their agroforestry fields and also why traditional farming systems and ecological diversity have persisted in this place while they have faded in surrounding areas.

Use of Cetaceans as Bait in Southern Bahia, Brazil, by Expert Fishermen that Market Shark Fins: A Lucrative Trade and Two Threatened Zoological Groups

Abstract: In Brazil, despite the existence of a federal law prohibiting the capture and harassment of marine mammals, the use of fat as fishing bait has been reported. However, the processes of obtaining and using bait have not been described for southern Bahia state. The objective of this study was to learn how these processes occur in populations of fishermen along the southern coast of the state and how to minimize the negative impacts on the cetacean population. Semi-structured interviews about shark fishing and use of cetaceans as bait were conducted with 65 shark fishers from Ilheus, Una, and Canavieiras municipalities in Brazil. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with percentage distributions. Fishermen emphasized the adipose tissue of dolphins, whales, and porpoises as preferred bait for catching sharks. Of our sample, 81.5% of fishers knew about the use of fat as bait and 56.9% knew someone who had caught cetaceans. Regarding beached whales, 67.7% reported knowing of their use and 20% had used them. This study shows the interrelation of people’s use of two zoological groups: cetaceans as bait, which represents a threat to the group, and sharks for commercialization, a group in which 75% of species are endangered. It shows the ecological impacts of these interactions. Protection measures will only be effective when they approach the local culture in an integrated manner by considering traditional customs that have developed from centuries of exploitation.

The Long Program for Ethics in Ethnobiology

Abstract: Ethics is a core interest of practicing ethnobiologists and a function of healthy relationships between individuals, cultures, researchers, and the foci of study. Changing times and cultural identities require clear reflections among scientists and responsive interactions with the individuals and cultures who work with ethnobiologists. This Ethnobiology Letters special issue, “Ethics in Ethnobiology,” explores the diverse ways in which intentional conversations about ethics guide us as we encounter unforeseen circumstances and witness changing values in ourselves as well as our collaborators. Moreover, by integrating the ethics of diverse interlocutors into their own research endeavors, these authors illustrate how ethnobiologists listen deeply to the values of their research collaborators.

From Ethical Codes to Ethics as Praxis: An Invitation

Abstract: Ethical guidance for research involving Indigenous and traditional communities, cultural knowledge, and associated biological resources has evolved significantly over recent decades. Formal guidance for ethnobiological research has been thoughtfully articulated and codified in many helpful ways, including but by no means limited to the Code of Ethics of the International Society of Ethnobiology. We have witnessed a successful and necessary era of “research ethics codification” with ethical awareness raised, fora established for debate and policy development, and new tools evolving to assist us in treating one another as we agree we ought to within the research endeavor. Yet most of us still struggle with ethical dilemmas, conflicts, and differences that arise as part of the inevitable uncertainties and lived realities of our cross-cultural work. Is it time to ask what more (or what else) might we do, to lift the words on a page that describe how we should conduct ourselves, to connecting with the relational intention of those ethical principles and practices in concrete, meaningful ways? How might we discover ethics as relationship and practice while we necessarily aspire to follow adopted ethical codes as prescription? This paper brings together Willie Ermine’s concept of “ethical space” and Darrell Posey’s recognition of the spiritual values of biodiversity with a unique selection of insights from other fields of practice, such as intercultural communication, conflict resolution and martial arts, to invite a new conceptualization of research ethics in ethnobiology as ethical praxis.

Dynamism in Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Persistence and Change in the Use of Totora (Schoenoplectus californicus) for Subsistence in Huanchaco, Peru

Abstract: Along the Peruvian north coast, many towns depend on fishing for subsistence The adoption of technological innovations has facilitated the extraction of marine resources from the Pacific Ocean by Peruvian fishermen in recent years However, some artisanal fishermen continue to rely on traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) to create sea vessels using botanical resources This is the case of the fishing community of Huanchaco, a beachside town, where a reed locally known as totora (Schoenoplectus californicus) is cultivated in sunken gardens and is principally used to construct caballitos de totora, reed sea craft This reed is also used for other purposes that benefit the fishing community economically The objective of this article is to highlight the dynamic quality of TEK by describing the persistence and change in use of totora by the fishing community of Huanchaco Participant observation techniques and individual interviews were conducted with 40 members of the fishing community Results show that they are currently using totora for three different purposes: the construction of sea craft, which facilitates the catching of edible marine resources for subsistence and sale, and the sale of reed mats and souvenirs for additional income Evidence from the recent past and the historical and pre-Hispanic periods suggests that some aspects of the technology of reed vessel construction have persisted whereas others have been modified The addition of souvenirs and a reduction in mat production have also been identified These changes in TEK highlight its dynamic quality, and are likely in response to economic and technological changes influenced by processes of globalization

Bearly Guilty: Understanding Human–Andean Bear Conflict Regarding Crop Losses

Abstract: Conflicts between wildlife and humans are increasing worldwide, especially in areas where they coexist and share resources. To investigate attitudes and opinions of the human population towards human-Andean bear ( Tremarctos ornatus ) conflicts in two indigenous Aymara communities, Chunavi and Lambate, Bolivia, semi-structured interviews were directed to an adult member of families in the communities. Simultaneously, we registered, monitored, and evaluated 70 farm plots to record evidence of Andean bear and other wildlife damage to the maize crops and plants. We found that the locals thought the bear caused the most damage when, in actuality, the most harmful issues identified for maize crops were environmental factors, followed by parrots and birds. Knowledge of the interactions between wild animals and productive systems can contribute to an understanding of Andean bear-human coexistence.

Ethnobiology for the Future: Linking Cultural and Ecological Diversity. Edited by Gary Paul Nabhan. 2016. Arizona University Press, Tucson. 309 pp.

Abstract: conservation. For example, Indigenous conceptualizations of plant domestication and diversification can potentiate multicultural conservation or participatory breeding efforts involving crop or crop wild relative diversity. Similarly vital to such efforts is the discussion of autobiology, or the “ethnobiology of us”, which comprises Chapter 4, in which readers are encouraged to explore the ethnobiological terms and principles that guide their own lives and cultures. Next, the one-size-fits-all approach of certain diets (e.g., the modern Paleolithic diet) is critiqued in Chapter 5, which explores the medically meaningful variation between modern humans and our common ancestors and what this may mean for modern diets. The understudied ethnobiology of microorganisms (e.g., those in fermenting vats, vinegar mothers, human guts) is thoughtfully discussed in Chapter 6. Ethnophenology and climate change are examined in Chapter 7, providing thought-provoking examples of ethnophenological indicators (e.g., gooseberry bushes coming into their full leaves is a sign that it is time to start planting corn) that will likely spark many new research projects.

Fonio (Digitaria exilis (Kippist) Stapf): A Socially Embedded Cereal for Food and Nutrition Security in Senegal

Abstract: Agricultural diversification with neglected and underutilized species is a viable way to sustainably increase the productivity of agrosystems. Understanding the social, cultural, and ecological roles of these species is crucial for their promotion. White fonio (Digitaria exilis), a neglected cereal endemic to West African Sahelian countries, is recognized as a crop for the future due to its cultural, nutritional, and economic values. In this study, we described fonio farming systems in Senegal through an ethnobotanical approach. As expected in family farming systems, farmers largely practiced diversified subsistence agriculture on small plots and relied on local seed exchange networks. The importance of fonio varied among agroecological zones, ethnic groups, and gender. In the Groundnut Basin, where agriculture is more mechanized, late-maturing landraces of fonio are cultivated as a cash crop rather than a staple crop. However, in southern Senegal, where food shortages are recurrent, fonio is more widespread and the cultivation of both early- and late-maturing landraces contributes to local food security. These differences also reflect the cultural status of fonio: different among ethnic groups and more important for women than for men. Finally, the regressive dynamics of fonio cultivation in most regions emphasizes the need to develop integrated conservation and promotion strategies that take into account the diversity of social and agronomical roles of the plant.

Dilemmas of Representation in Contemporary Environmental Anthropology: Documenting Dynamite Fishing in Southeastern Tanzania

Abstract: This paper draws from an ethnographic vignette of dynamite fishing in southeastern Tanzania. I consider the utility of participant observation as a method for examining ecologically destructive practices, especially in contexts where such activities are illegal or prohibited by conservation regulations. I raise self-reflexive critiques, internal to my home discipline of anthropology, and discuss the methodological, ethical, and analytical challenges of attempting to document cases of dynamite fishing and other related phenomena of pressing environmental concern. Ultimately, I maintain that participant observation remains a valuable tool for documenting and explaining environmentally destructive activities.

Bumblebee Honey in the Nordic Countries

Abstract: Research in historical ethnobiology can provide information about little known and seemingly insignificant practices in the past. The utilization of insect products as a foodstuff is a rare custom in Europe and data on this practice are scarce. From Nordic countries, we have information about producing ant schnapps with the help of the red wood ant, Formica rufa L., which has been used both as a remedy and as a drink. Honey and beeswax were once gathered in the forests from wild honey bee colonies, but have been replaced with products from the domestic honey bee, Apis mellifera L. Another product, once a well-known and appreciated sweet, especially among children, was nectar gathered from bumblebee nests. Collecting the nectar from bumblebee nests is an activity that has been practiced within living memory in many parts of the Nordic countries. This seems to be an ancient practice dating back at least a millennium that has survived until recently. It is an example of how methods and sources established within historical ethnobiology can be used to gain knowledge on the past as well as possible future uses of available biological resources.

Latin American Society of Ethnobiology’s Code of Ethics

Abstract: Latin American Society of Ethnobiology’s Code of Ethics

The Protection of Indigenous Peoples’ Seed Rights during Ethnobotanical Research

Abstract: Recognition of the importance of biodiversity for global food security and the community food sustainability movement has helped increase awareness of seed rights. International treaties created to ensure the world’s access to seed biodiversity address access to seed banks for breeding purposes. Ethnobotanists are often required to deposit research plant specimens with government seed banks or herbariums. If Indigenous Peoples’ plants are then used developing patented varieties, are their rights recognized? These rights depend upon recognition of Indigenous Peoples as plant breeders, prior informed consent (PIC) protocols, access and benefit sharing (ABS) agreements via material transfer agreements, and benefits returned to Indigenous and local communities per the Nagoya Protocol. To ensure such rights to genetic material and associated intellectual property rights, documentation of these agreements and links to the people and communities from which they originated needs to occur at first collection and throughout subsequent research, conservation, and breeding programs.

Condors, Water, and Mining: Heeding Voices from Andean Communities

Abstract: This paper addresses the relationship between scholarship and activism, considering the obligations that ethnobiologists have to the communities we work with. I begin by describing the cultural meaning of Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) in Peru through their connections to mountains and water in various forms, and the condor’s role as guardian and protector. My research on condors led me to Indigenous beliefs and practices regarding sacred mountains and water, and from this to the threats against the environment posed by international mining operations. This discussion highlights questions concerning the scholar’s role in situations of environmental destruction and political conflict in relation to structural violence, the mass media, and climate change. At a time when those who protect the land and water are endangered around the globe, the decisions we make while conducting research carry responsibilities for the consequences of our actions, even as these consequences ripple out beyond our specific locality and our original intentions.

World Views and the Concept of “Traditional”

Abstract: Whether individuals hold static or dynamic worldviews underlies a number of contemporary controversies, including evolution/creationist debates, the reality of climate change, and application of treaty rights by Indigenous cultures. In this last case the debate is often framed in terms of whether or not Indigenous cultures are still using traditional methods when engaged in hunting, fishing, or harvesting. My purpose is to evaluate these issues by arguing that traditional means quite different things in different cultural traditions. In Western cultures, whose roots lie in static worldviews, e.g., those put forth by Aristotle and Descartes, traditional tends to mean unchanged or perhaps timeless. In Indigenous cultures, which typically have dynamic worldviews, traditional (a Western concept), implies that technologies employed, knowledge bases, and even ceremonial practices can change when conditions require. Western thinking assumes that use of the word traditional implies that such concepts or knowledge are of the past and thus unchangeable and irrelevant to the contemporary world. Non-Indigenous investigators have contended that traditional and change are contradictory concepts and that “[ traditional ] carries the unacknowledged connotation that the item in question is in decline, thus in need of being preserved .” In Indigenous thinking, the term traditional implies primarily that such knowledge and its related concepts have been in existence for a lengthy time, precisely because their ability to incorporate new observations and information has kept them fresh and relevant. I discuss these alternative concepts in the contexts of treaty and land rights and contemporary conservation concepts of biodiversity.

Firearms Effects on Tsimane’ Hunting and Traditional Knowledge in Bolivian Amazonia

Abstract: Subsistence hunting is a key activity for indigenous Amazonian people. Traditional Tsimane’ bow hunting was strongly affected by the introduction of firearms over 30 years ago. Tsimane’ of Bolivia maintain traditional hunting techniques with bows and arrows, sometimes in conjunction with modern firearms. This study explores Tsimane' perceived costs and benefits of bow- versus gun-hunting. We consider cultural conservation in addition to factors typical in ecological comparisons of traditional and introduced hunting technologies. Firearms are expensive and less reliable than bows and arrows. Costs of purchasing firearms requires market engagement and surplus production to generate cash. Tsimane’ do not identify overhunting as one of the costs of firearms; though multiple studies show reduced game populations in areas under moderate to intense gun-hunting pressure. In sum, Tsimane’ identify multiple benefits to traditional hunting technology, while firearms have a strong effect of the loss of knowledge regarding fabrication of bows and arrows, and present a challenge to Tsimane’ cultural identity as bow-hunters.

Ethno-Ornithology of the Mushere of Nigeria: Children's Knowledge and Perceptions of Birds

Abstract: Mushere children’s ethno-ornithology was surveyed from October to November 2015 to find out their level of bird knowledge—as well as whether and how children valued and learned about birds—in order to determine the potential role such knowledge might play in Mushere biodiversity conservation. Methods included picture elicitation exercises, free-listing, and semi-structured interviews. Our results revealed a limited knowledge of birds in Mushere children, and that bird knowledge was gendered. Girls learned through observation, while boys learned through practical bird-related activities. Learning was mostly horizontal for boys but vertical and/or oblique for girls; the most reported learning mode was through oral tradition. Farmland and garden birds were the most common groups, with birds in the families Columbidae and Estrildidae having the highest salience and frequency of mention. We suggest that this reflects the importance of ecological salience, since both groups are relatively locally abundant. The children also had a limited knowledge of cultural beliefs and uses of the birds, but valued birds as important. We argue that how much children will know and learn about any biological domain will be determined by the cultural attitudes and perceptions of that domain, and the cultural importance attached to it. We conclude that the limited knowledge of birds in Mushere children reflects Mushere cultural indifference (ornithoapatheia) to birds. We suggest that a consistent and deliberate conservation education program that will work towards encouraging ornithophilia, the love of birds, and biophilia, the love of nature, in Mushere children could be beneficial.

Histoire et Voyages des Plantes Cultivèes à Madagascar avant le XVIe Siècle. By Philippe Beaujard. 2017. Karthala, Paris. 415 pp.

Abstract: Plants and plant names reflect this history. Bananas, for instance, are generally called by the East African name akondro (from Bantu kondo and variants), but also by the Malayo-Polynesian word fontsy, including a variant ontsy that comes from a south Sulawesi language (see p. 164 and the map on p. 158). Sometimes the latter names are used as modifiers of akondro, to name varieties. The term kida, from India, is found in Madagascar; the Bahasa Indonesia word pisang gives rise to a couple of local descendants, and Arabic terms have also gotten into the banana vocabulary.

Agricultural Sustainability and Environmental Change at Ancient Gordion. By John M. Marston. 2017. University of Pennsylvania Museum Press, Philadelphia. 224 pp.

Abstract: The first chapter introduces the aims and methodological approach of the volume and presents crucial information on the site, its chronology, and its lengthy excavation history. The second chapter is dedicated to an overview and explanation of the two theoretical models that will be employed and integrated throughout the remainder of the text: behavioral ecology and resilience thinking. Behavioral ecology, when used in archaeological contexts, relates to foraging theory, and in the specific context of the monograph, to the production of food through agriculture and animal husbandry. Resilience thinking looks at the relationship between ecological systems and social systems, in other words the reciprocal relationships between humans and environments. The description of each theoretical framework is simultaneously detailed and vague in that the history of the theories and their current functions are thoroughly presented, but almost no examples or hypotheticals are employed to demonstrate how they would work in an archaeological context. Similarly, it would have been helpful to see these theories integrated with past and current archaeological schools of thought since Marston often criss-crosses the boundaries between processual and postprocessual archaeology. The ancient site of Gordion, located in central Anatolia (Turkey), is composed of a citadel mound, a lower town, an outer town, and multiple tumuli or burial mounds. Although population density varied over the centuries, the site was occupied consistently from the early Bronze Age until the late Roman period or roughly 3000 BC until the fifth century AD. After a period of almost total abandonment, the urban center and surrounding region were resettled during the thirteenth to fourteenth centuries.

Ethnobotanical Study in Martinique of the Species Behind the Local Plant Name Bwa Kaka

Abstract: Several scientific studies have reported that the sustainability of Traditional Knowledge (TK) is threatened by modernization. Plants of local pharmacopeias at the forefront of this phenomenon are those that are more discreet. Based on these observations, we focused on the case of a vernacular name attributed to a medicinal plant in Martinique: bwa kaka . It is reported in the literature as being highly sought after by the local population but there is a lack of information about plant species behind the denomination. To identify species that correspond to bwa kaka and to record the uses associated with them, a literature review of authors in the creolophone regions from the seventeenth century to the present day was performed, followed by an ethnobotanical survey among 80 people. A use value (UV) index was calculated. It was also determined whether there was convergence of uses between these different species. Additionally, this article examines the sociocultural (age, sex, residence) factors that could influence the answers. We found that ten species were called bwa kaka . Solanum triste was the most cited species, followed by Petiveria alliacea . Among these two, P. alliacea had the most cultural significance based on the calculated UV. Designated uses for each species were not significantly distinct according to Fisher’s Exact Test but they were significantly different depending on the sex of the interviewee. The number of uses cited was not correlated with the age of the interviewee.

Biosocial Synchrony on Sumba: Multispecies Relationships and Environmental Variations in Indonesia. By Cynthia T. Fowler. 2016. Lexington Books, Lanham. 137 pp.

Abstract: Fowler’s Biosocial Synchrony on Sumba is a subtle reminder for ethnobiologists/anthropologists to view indigenous beliefs and knowledge systems from the perspective of the respective communities. Are anthropologists also capable of adopting the perspectives of the non-living? Fowler answers her own question by employing what she calls a “manipulation of perspectives” to promote an understanding of biosocial beings from the perspectives of seaworms, their worshippers, the celestial bodies, and human bodies. Fowler’s arguments draw strength from the huge volume of data collected since 1997 in collaboration with the Kodi people of tana nale or the land of seaworms, effectively interweaving ethnography, astronomy, marine biology, and ecology. The crux of the book is based on Ingold’s theory of biosocial becomings, and the author has successfully portrayed how indigenous understandings see no boundaries between the living and the non-living, the close and the distant, or nature and culture.

Archaeology and Biogeography of the Western Pond Turtle (Actinemys marmorata) in the Puget Sound Region

Abstract: The modern distribution of the western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata) is discontinuous, with a historic but extirpated population in the Puget Sound region that was isolated from populations south along the Columbia River. To better understand this distribution, a review of the archaeological literature for the Puget Sound region was conducted to determine the prehistoric biogeography of the species in the Puget Sound area. Western pond turtles are nearly absent from the regional archaeological record, represented at best by four tentative specimens. This may be explained by extremely low population levels throughout the Holocene at the northernmost extent of its range.

Nutritional properties of native plants and traditional foods from the central United States.

Abstract: Traditional foods of indigenous people are a potential untapped source for providing nutritious dietary options in the modern world. The rising popularity of indigenous foods such as amaranth in recent years suggests that these foods can become a popular part of a healthy diet in the United States. Traditional knowledge of indigenous people can form the basis for using wild food resources. This research provides data on 50 plant species common to the central United States that are abundant sources of dietary protein and fiber, and used traditionally by Native American tribes. Many species show promise with high amounts of protein and fiber being found in lamb’s quarters, nettles, grass seeds, and buffalo gourd seeds. These results honor traditional knowledge. In addition, many of these species could be cultivated using techniques similar to those existing for commercial grains and vegetables. Seeds and/or greens of these wild plants could easily be incorporated into the diets of many more people, improving modern diets, and the nutritional quality of food products.