Plants and People in Ancient Ecuador: The Ethnobotany in the Jama River Valley (Case Studies in Archaeology) (Case Studies in Archaeology Series.) - Softcover

Pearsall, Deborah

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0534613217 ISBN 13: 9780534613211

Publisher: Cengage Learning, 1980

Synopsis

This case study illustrates the contemporary archaeological field of ethnobotany, and explores the interrelationships between the prehistoric residents of a small valley in coastal Ecuador and the dry tropical forest habitat in which they lived. The work has three related objectives: 1. it is an ethnobotany a work that explores how, through the medium of culture, people shape and are shaped by the environment in which they live, 2. it is a work that synthesizes results of some 10 years of research done by Pearsall during the Jama Archaeological-Paleoethnobotanical project, and 3. it is a work that provides Pearsall with the opportunity to illustrate paleoethnobotanical research methods, an important component of contemporary interdisciplinary archaeology. Pearsall took as her subject the 3,600-year-old archaeological record of the Jama River valley in northern Manabi, Ecuador, and she determined what plants people selected for food, fuel, building materials, and ritual; evaluated the impact of agricultural activities on the tropical forest environment; and examined the response of populations to volcanic ash fall disasters. Broken into four parts, this case study starts with an introduction to the field of ethnobotany, then goes on to describe Pearsall's experiences doing field work in the Jama River Valley and the results of her research, and concludes with an illustration of how ethnobotany fits into and contributes to archaeology.

About this title

Review:

List of Figures and Tables. Foreword. Preface. 1. Ethnobotany: The Study of Human-Plant Interrelationships. 2. The Research Process: An Overview of the Jama Project. 3. Living and Working in the Jama Valley. 4. Recovering the Archaeobotanical Data. 5. Modern Flora and Agricultural Studies: Goals and Methods. 6. Plants Used by the Jama-Coaque People. 7. Plant-People Interrelationships in Early Jama-Coaque II. 8. Producing Food in the Jama River Valley. 9. Staying in Balance in the Jama River Valley. 10. The Evolution of Tropical Forest Agriculture. 11. Ethnobotany in Archaeology. Appendix: Macroremains from the Pechichal Site, Excluding Unkowns. Bibliography. Index.

Synopsis:

This case study for beginning students demonstrates how plant remains can be found in difficult conditions of preservation. Early chapters review the field of ethnobotany, and later chapters describe fieldwork in the Jama River valley and present results of ethnobotanical research. A final section places the research in the larger context of the ev

About this edition

• Publisher: Cengage Learning
• Publication date: 1980
• ISBN 10: 0534613217
• ISBN 13: 9780534613211
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 200