Ethnobotany and Paleoethnobotany

Catalog description

Explores relations between plants and people, both in present (ethnobotany) and prehistoric (paleoethnobotany, archaeobotany) times. Because ethnobotany and paleoethnobotany are interdisciplinary fields, we will draw on several contributing fields of study, including botany, cultural anthropology, archaeology, conservation. Students will be trained in botanical and social data collection methods in ethnobotanical research and will focus on paleoethnobotanical data collection/analysis: archaeobotanical recovery methods, and principles of curation, identification, and interpretation. Knowledge of ethnobotanical/ paleoethnobotanical methods will allow students to evaluate major works during the final weeks of the course.