A Zapotec Natural History
288 pages, 6 x 9
Paperback
Release Date:01 Aug 2016
ISBN:9780816534333
A Zapotec Natural History
Trees, Herbs, and Flowers, Birds, Beasts, and Bugs in the Life of San Juan Gbëë
The University of Arizona Press
A Zapotec Natural History is an extraordinary book that describe the people of a small town in Mexico and their remarkable knowledge of the natural world in which they live.
San Juan Gbëë is a Zapotec Indian community located in the state of Oaxaca, a region of great biological diversity. Eugene S. Hunn is a well-known anthropologist and ethnobiologist who has spent many years working in San Juan Gbëë, studying its residents and their knowledge of the local environment. Here Hunn writes sensitively and respectfully about the rich understanding of local flora and fauna that village inhabitants have acquired and transmitted over many centuries. In this village everyone, young children included, can identify and name hundreds of local plants, animals, and fungi, together with the details of their life cycles, habitat preferences, and functions in the economic, aesthetic, and spiritual lives of the town.
Part 1 of this two-part work describes the community, the subsistence farming practices of its residents, the nomenclature and classification of the local biological taxonomy, the use of plants for treating illnesses, and the ritual and decorative roles of flowers. Part 2 is available online, and includes detailed inventories of all plant, animal, and fungal categories recognized by San Juan’s people; a series of indexes; a library of more than 1,200 images illustrating the town’s plants, people, landscapes, and daily activities; and sounds of village life.
San Juan Gbëë is a Zapotec Indian community located in the state of Oaxaca, a region of great biological diversity. Eugene S. Hunn is a well-known anthropologist and ethnobiologist who has spent many years working in San Juan Gbëë, studying its residents and their knowledge of the local environment. Here Hunn writes sensitively and respectfully about the rich understanding of local flora and fauna that village inhabitants have acquired and transmitted over many centuries. In this village everyone, young children included, can identify and name hundreds of local plants, animals, and fungi, together with the details of their life cycles, habitat preferences, and functions in the economic, aesthetic, and spiritual lives of the town.
Part 1 of this two-part work describes the community, the subsistence farming practices of its residents, the nomenclature and classification of the local biological taxonomy, the use of plants for treating illnesses, and the ritual and decorative roles of flowers. Part 2 is available online, and includes detailed inventories of all plant, animal, and fungal categories recognized by San Juan’s people; a series of indexes; a library of more than 1,200 images illustrating the town’s plants, people, landscapes, and daily activities; and sounds of village life.
Eugene S. Hunn is Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle. He received his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. His primary research interests are ethnobiology, ethnoecology, and cognitive anthropology. He has conducted fieldwork in Mexico and with Native North American communities.
List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction
2 Guièdz / The Town
3 Ló Liù Sànfwân / The Land
4 Lë` / Names for Plants and Animals
5 Dòoz / The Milpa
6 Ncuàan / Medicines from Plants
7 Guièe / Flowers
8 Xpë`ëd / The Children
Literature Cited
Index
Part 2
Figures
Tables
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