Research Catalog

Footprints of the forest : Ka'apor ethnobotany-- the historical ecology of plant utilization by an Amazonian people

Title: Footprints of the forest : Ka'apor ethnobotany-- the historical ecology of plant utilization by an Amazonian people / William Balée.
Author: Balée, William L., 1954-
Publication: New York, NY : Columbia University Press, [1994], ©1994.

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Request in advance	F2520.1.U7 B35 1994	Off-site

Description

xxiii, 396 pages : illustrations; 26 cm

Summary

Footprints of the Forest is the clearest and most comprehensive account to date of the relationship between an Amazonian people and their botanical environment.
Based on Balee's ten years of ethnological and botanical research among the Tupi-Guarani-speaking Indians, especially the Ka'apor, of eastern Amazonia, this book documents the ways in which the Ka'apor use, manage, name, and classify many hundreds of plant species found in their habitat. From a historical and ecological perspective, Balee shows that Ka'apor ethnobotany represents an interpenetration of Amazonian culture and nature and thus constitutes a domain of scientific inquiry in its own right.
The substantive chapters explore the history of the Ka'apor and their present modes of land use, the Ka'apor's influence on the composition of fragile forests in their habitat, and Ka'apor forest management practices. Balee also discusses the nomenclature and classification of indigenous plants as well as the cognitive aspects of magical, medicinal, and poisonous plants.
Footprints of the Forest concludes with an explanatory framework for understanding the similarities and differences among the ethnobotanical systems of diverse Amazonian peoples and ten cross-referenced appendices, which will aid those readers interested in specific Amazonian plants and their native names, habitats, and exact uses by the Ka'apor.

Subjects

Bibliography (note)

Contents

Note on Orthography and Glosses for Indigenous Terms -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The Botanical and Ethnographic Setting -- 3. Ka'apor History -- 4. Activity Contexts of Plants and People -- 5. Medicine, Magic, and Poison -- 6. Indigenous Forest Management -- 7. Plant Nomenclature and Classification -- 8. Toward a Comparative Ethnobotany of Lowland South America -- Appendix 1 Ecological Importance Values of Fallow Species -- Appendix 2 Ecological Importance Values of Fallow Families -- Appendix 3 Ecological Importance Values of High Forest Species -- Appendix 4 Ecological Importance Values of High Forest Families -- Appendix 5 Alphabetical List of Plant Species Known to the Ka'apor -- Appendix 6 Codes for Activity Contexts -- Appendix 7 Indigenous Names and Activity Contexts of Plants Known to the Ka'apor -- Appendix 8 Specific Activities and Associated Plants in Ka'apor Culture -- Appendix 9 Concordance of Folk and Botanical Nomenclature.
Appendix 10 Outline for a Classification of Ka'apor Generic Plant Names.

ISBN

0231074840

LCCN

93011044

OCLC

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries