Synopses & Reviews
A Zapotec Natural History is an extraordinary book and accompanying CD (also avialble on the web here!) 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 surprising 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 on a CD-ROM and includes detailed inventories of all plant, animal, and fungal categories recognized by San Juans people, a series of indexes, and a library of more than 1,200 images illustrating the towns plants, people, landscapes, and daily activities. Also included on the CD-ROM are files containing sounds of village life.
The contents of Part 2 (the CD-ROM) are also available online.
Review
Winner of a PROSE award from the AAP in the anthropology category."“A Zapotec Natural History is a superb study in indigenous science, and a welcome contribution to our growing knowledge of the important relationship between humans and their local environment.” —Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources
Synopsis
A Zapotec Natural History is an extraordinary book and accompanying CD (also available on the web here ) that describe the people of a small town in Mexico and their remarkable knowledge of the natural world in which they live. San Juan Gbee is a Zapotec Indian community located in the state of Oaxaca, a region of surprising biological diversity. Eugene S. Hunn is a well-known anthropologist and ethnobiologist who has spent many years working in San Juan Gbee, 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 on a CD-ROM and includes detailed inventories of all plant, animal, and fungal categories recognized by San Juan's people, a series of indexes, and a library of more than 1,200 images illustrating the town's plants, people, landscapes, and daily activities. Also included on the CD-ROM are files containing sounds of village life.
The contents of Part 2 (the CD-ROM) are also available online.
About the Author
Eugene S. Hunn is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Washington. During his lengthy professional career, he has conducted ethnobiological research in Mexico with Mayan people in Chiapas and Zapotec people in the Sierra Sur of Oaxaca and with Sahaptin people in the Columbia Plateau of the Pacific Northwest. His books include Tzeltal Folk Zoology: The Classification of Discontinuities in Nature, Resource Managers: North American and Australian Hunter-Gatherers (co-edited with N. M. Williams), and Nch'i-Wána, [The Big River': Mid-Columbia Indians and their Land.