Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge: Ethnobotany and Ecological Wisdom of Indigenous Peoples of Northwestern North America

Both books arrived in great condition on time.

This two-volume, 1161-page encyclopedic work summarizes the life work of Nancy Turner, the leading authority on plant use among Indigenous people of western Canada. She has worked with hundreds of Indigenous people, over almost five decades, to record every detail of plant use (and fungus, lichen, and related organism use) and traditional management. Suffice it to say that the acknowledgements comprise eight pages of fine print, and most of the people named are Indigenous authorities and co-workers. Dr. Turner has been coauthoring books with Indigenous authorities for decades, and her ready ability to cooperate and work with people shows up in the present work.There is really nothing remotely comparable to this book in the literature on Indigenous peoples; the only really comparable oeuvre is Hu Shiu-ying's work on Chinese ethnobotany. Some European countries, and parts of Mexico, have equivalent coverage, but only through the work of hundreds of scholars. Nancy Turner is a one-woman knowledge industry who literally writes faster than most people read; this is only the latest in a huge series of works, most of them covering the plant use of particular First Nations.Most of this encyclopedic reference deals with actual uses of plants, as food, for technology, and for healing, but there is also full detail on how they were traditionally managed, how children were taught about them, how the cultures represented them in stories, and similar questions. A major finding of Dr. Turner and her coworkers has been the extent of plant management by the Northwest Coast peoples; they are usually described as hunter-gatherers in the literature, but their plant management was (and locally still is) much more like farming. They were intensive managers, cultivators, and often sowers or transplanters, and some plants show the effects of cultivation over millennia. The famous "anomaly" of Northwest Coast cultural complexity--comparable as it is to that of advanced agricultural societies--stands explained: they, to all intents and purposes, WERE advanced plant managers. In fact, they managed most of the Northwest far better than it is being managed now, and we can and should learn a great deal from them.This great work will remain a landmark in human-ecological studies.

I ordered this item and in the description it says volume 1 and 2I've only received volume 1, I messaged and no response yetWas a lot of money for 1volume

This is one of those books we dream about being written. By far Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge is the most accessible and in-depth study of Northwestern Ethnobotany around. The author does a superb job of introducing the subject matter, the different ways information was attained, and the different facets to be considered in each area of study.I love the way Turner weaves scientific information with traditional knowledge. I feel she honors both traditions without compromising either of them.Even though this is considered an academic book, it felt more like a story. For instance, in chapter two the author tells us the story of how and where the natives arrived from by accessing data on glacial melting, sea level, archeology, and genetics. While giving us this date she weaves in many interesting Native stories to compliment and humanize the migrations.As for the book itself, there are so many valuable insights and information to be gleaned, I cannot but begin to emphasis how awesome of a job the author did. For instance, on page 75 the author discusses different ways natives might have learned about selective harvesting, storage, pruning, and medicinal uses of plants by watching animals. Another story she tells is how the Natives would purposely leave piles of Cattail material behind to help and honor the squirrels who would weave together shelters from these pieces in nearby Fir trees.I love how the author addresses the different fields of study necessary in order for us to arrive at a decent understanding of what is being talked about. For example, on page 134 she talks about what different areas of study are needed to truly understand the significance and meaning of plant names. She tells us we need a decent understanding of linguistics, particularly with familiarity of many different languages. We also need a deep understanding of botanical and ecological knowledge as well as historical, archeological, social, and economic relations. All these factors are needed in order for us to gain a proper understanding of a plant name. She does this countless times throughout her book. Anytime she moves to a different subtopic, she lays out what is needed to gain an understanding, and then, like any good academic, she delivers.As for the second book in the series, while it was not as exciting to me as the first, there was still a lot of valuable information on storytelling and ritualistic uses of plants that was enlightening to say the least.I can go on and on about how indispensable Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge is to anyone studying Ethnobotany or plants in general, but I will just finish with this: if I could give Turner’s book Ten Stars, I would.