The studies of the interactions between society and nature, can be approached from different perspectives and with the use of a variety of tools, among which is Ethnobotany.
Ethnobotany studies the relations between humans and the plants surrounding them, i.e., the use and exploitation of plants in cultural spaces throughout time.
During its beginnings, the first works done under the term “Ethnobotany” consisted in the elaboration of plant catalogs, including its uses. After becoming a research discipline, its focus started to extend to the involving factors of the relation between humans and its plant environment, including ethnographic and symbolic aspects, as well as inherited knowledge among generations.
Thanks to the compiled knowledge about the management of plants environment, it has been possible to generate a great empiric knowledge which has allowed us to discover plant features, such as its medicinal uses, edibility and even toxicity. Throughout history, humans have used plants, creating a broad knowledge of flora, which has provided diverse possibilities to enhance life conditions in society.
At the beginning of the XX century, Ethnobotany suffered a radical transformation, going from mere data recopilation to a methodological and conceptual reorientation, which marked the beginning of academic Ethnobotany.
Nowadays, Ethnobotany is a very demanding field which requires knowledge in many areas, such as the training to identify and preserve plants, and anthropological knowledge to understand cultural concepts regarding the perception of plants. Ethnobotany even requires linguistic knowledge to translate native terms which provide information about plants and its relation to humans.
For these reasons, Ethnobotany has become a fundamental field in understanding the functions which plants have in cultures, therefore, it has become fundamental in understanding the relationship between plants and society.
Written by Diego Hidalgo