Book

Plants and animals in the life of the Kuna

University of Austin PressAustinPublished In 1995 • Pages: xv, 150

By: Ventocilla, Jorge, Herrera, Heraclio, Núñez, Valerio, Roeder, Hans, King, Elisabeth.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This document is the work of two Kuna biologists and a Panamanian colleague who confront the environmental crisis in Kuna Yala (San Blas) and warn of the danger at hand which could lead to environmental catastrophe unless the Kuna rebuild their connection with the natural world through the application of traditional and scientific knowledge (p. x). In addition to the above the book also provides information on hunting practices, agriculture, the medicinal use of plants (including many excellent illustrations of the plants themselves), and information on the commoditization of traditional forest products.The authors discuss the various problems in the market economy of Kuna Yala, particularly in reference to the alliance between Kuna and non-Kuna which produces a cash hungry Kuna economy vunerable to the agents of foreign economic interests. Other factors at play in the economic situation in which the Kuna find themselves in the 1990s are population growth, careless ecological practices, subsistence pressure, and other non-market sources of environmental degradation.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Fauna
Flora
Cultural goals
Arboriculture
Pharmaceuticals
Environmental quality
Medical therapy
Ethnobotany
Ethnozoology
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Kuna
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
1999
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Middle America and the Caribbean
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Central America
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypesThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Indigenous Person
Natural Scientist
Historian
Geographer
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 1997
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
ca. 1987-1990
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
not specified
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Kuna Yala (San Blas), Panama
NotesAdditional notes
by Jorge Ventocilla, Heraclio Herrera, Valerio Núñez ; edited by Hans Roeder ; translated by Elisabeth King
Translation of: Plantas y animales en la vida del pueblo Kuna
Includes bibliographical references (p. 133-138) and index
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
95002942
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Cuna Indians