The important cultural role of an ancient, endangered
plant Under
the Shade of Thipaakis the first book to explore the cultural role of cycads, plants that evolved
over 250 million years ago and are now critically endangered, in the ancient
and modern Mesoamerican and Caribbean worlds. This volume demonstrates how
these ancient plants have figured prominently in regional mythologies, rituals,
art, and foodways from the Pleistocene-Holocene
transition to the present.
Contributors discuss the
importance of cycads from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including
biology and population genetics, historical ecology, archaeology, art history,
linguistics, and conservation and sustainability. Chapters pay special
attention to the enduring conceptual relationships between cycads and maize.
This book demonstrates how a close examination of cycad-human relationships can
motivate conservation of these threatened plants in ways that engage local
communities, as well as promote the significance of ancient and modern
practices that unite nature and culture.
Contributors: Francisco Barona-G鏔ez Emanuel Bojorquez Quintal Mark A. Bonta Edder Daniel Bustos-D燰z D嫕ae Cabrera-Toledo Michael Calonje Michael D. Carrasco Ang幨ica Cibri嫕-Jaramillo Joshua D. Englehardt Jorge Gonz嫮ez-Astorga Naishla M. Guti廨rez-Arroyo Jos?Sa獮 Guti廨rez-Ortega Thomas Hart Jaime R. Pag嫕-Jim幯ez Francisco P廨ez-Zavala Luis Rojas Abarca Esteban S嫕chez Rodr璲uez Dennis William Stevenson Amber M. VanDerwarker Luis R. Vel嫙quez Maldonado Andrew P. Vovides
