Ethnobotany of Mexico

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvi

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2. Mexican Ethnobotany: Interactions of People and Plants in Mesoamerica

   • Alejandro Casas, José Blancas, Rafael Lira

   Pages 1-19

3. Ethnobotany in Mexico: History, Development, and Perspectives

   • Andrés Camou-Guerrero, Alejandro Casas, Ana Isabel Moreno-Calles, Jahzeel Aguilera-Lara, David Garrido-Rojas, Selene Rangel-Landa et al.

   Pages 21-39

4. Ethnobotany and Ethnohistorical Sources of Mesoamerica

   • Robert Bye, Edelmira Linares

   Pages 41-65

5. Pre-Columbian Food System in West Mesoamerica

   • Daniel Zizumbo-Villarreal, Patricia Colunga-GarcíaMarín, Alondra Flores-Silva

   Pages 67-82

6. Biodiversity and Edible Plants of Mexico

   • Cristina Mapes, Francisco Basurto

   Pages 83-131

7. Contemporary Maya Food System in the Lowlands of Northern Yucatan

   • Carmen Salazar, Daniel Zizumbo-Villarreal, Patricia Colunga-GarcíaMarín, Stephen Brush

   Pages 133-150

8. Traditional Markets in Mesoamerica: A Mosaic of History and Traditions

   • Edelmira Linares, Robert Bye

   Pages 151-177

9. Ethnobotany for Sustainable Ecosystem Management: A Regional Perspective in the Tehuacán Valley

   • Alejandro Casas, Rafael Lira, Ignacio Torres, América Delgado, Ana Isabel Moreno-Calles, Selene Rangel-Landa et al.

   Pages 179-206

10. Domestication of Plants in Mesoamerica: An Archaeological Review with Some Ethnobotanical Interpretations

    • Barbara Pickersgill

    Pages 207-231

11. Cultural Motives of Plant Management and Domestication

    • José Blancas, Alejandro Casas, Ana Isabel Moreno-Calles, Javier Caballero

    Pages 233-255

12. Evolutionary Ethnobotanical Studies of Incipient Domestication of Plants in Mesoamerica

    • Alejandro Casas, José Blancas, Adriana Otero-Arnaiz, Jeniffer Cruse-Sanders, Rafael Lira, Aidé Avendaño et al.

    Pages 257-285

13. Ethnobotany of Mexican Weeds

    • Heike Vibrans

    Pages 287-317

14. Phylogeographical Approaches to the Study of Plant Domestication, with Special Emphasis on Perennial Plants

    • Xitlali Aguirre-Dugua, Antonio González-Rodríguez

    Pages 319-366

15. Your Beans of the Last Harvest and the Possible Adoption of Bright Ideas

    • Daniel G. Debouck

    Pages 367-387

16. Homo sapiens–Cucurbita interaction in Mesoamerica: Domestication, Dissemination, and Diversification

    • Rafael Lira, Luis Eguiarte, Salvador Montes, Daniel Zizumbo-Villarreal, Patricia Colunga-García Marín, Mauricio Quesada

    Pages 389-401

17. Genetics and Ecology of Wild and Cultivated Maize: Domestication and Introgression

    • Jonás Andrés Aguirre-Liguori, Erika Aguirre-Planter, Luis E. Eguiarte

    Pages 403-416

18. Chile Peppers (Capsicum spp.)

    • Barbara Pickersgill

    Pages 417-437

19. Cotton: Traditional and Modern Uses

    • Ana Wegier, Valeria Alavez, Daniel Piñero

    Pages 439-456

20. An Interdisciplinary Perspective on the Loss of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in the Tehuantepec Isthmus, Oaxaca

    • Alfredo Saynes-Vásquez, Francisco Vergara-Silva, Javier Caballero

    Pages 457-473

This book reviews the history, current state of knowledge, and different research approaches and techniques of studies on interactions between humans and plants in an important area of agriculture and ongoing plant domestication: Mesoamerica.  Leading scholars and key research groups in Mexico discuss essential topics as well as contributions from international research groups that have conducted studies on ethnobotany and domestication of plants in the region. Such a convocation will produce an interesting discussion about future investigation and conservation of regional human cultures, genetic resources, and cultural and ecological processes that are critical for global sustainability.

• Domestication
• ethnobotany
• ethnoecology
• genetic resources
• sustainability
• Systematic Botany

“This book is a tour de force. The 59 contributors … provide a wealth of information in its 22 chapters, each of which is well referenced via footnotes. It presents both introductory and advanced material but also asks important questions about gaps in knowledge; this makes it relevant to undergraduates, postgraduates and postdoctoral scientists/researchers as well as policy makers and anyone concerned with establishing sustainable development.” (Dr. A. M. Mannion, British Ecology Society, Vol. 48 (1), April, 2017)

“The editors need to be congratulated for having brought forward a volume that will be the standard for years to come. Policymakers, researchers, and the general public have for the first time a concise but readable overview of the ethnobotany of Mexico. Everyone interested in ethnobotany … will find a wealth of information in this volume. Overall, Ethnobotany of Mexico is a great example as to how modern ethnobotanical treatises should be structured, and what information they should include.” (Economic Botany, Vol. 70 (4), December, 2016)

• Unidad de Biotecnología y Prototipos(UBI, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Estado de Mexico, Mexico

  Rafael Lira

• Instituto de Ivestigaciones en Ecosistem, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Mexico

  Alejandro Casas

• Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morel, Colonia Chamilpa, Cuernavaca,, Mexico

  José Blancas

Dr. Rafael Lira
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Laboratorio de Recursos Naturales, Los Reyes Iztacala, Tlanepantla, Mexico

Alejandro Casas, PhD
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

Policies and ethics