Ethnobotany and History in 2010
2010 is rich in events related to ethnobotany and medical traditions urbi et orbi, in town and in the world.
In July, Alain Touwaide will deliver a two-part seminar on ancient books and herbals for the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program on Secrets from the Past: From Ancient Texts to Modern Medicine. The 2010 Smithsonian Botanical Symposium will be held on September 24 and 25, 2010. Hosted by the Dept. of Botany and Anthropology, it will examine the 21st century transformation of the study of interactions between plants and people. Almost at the same time, the 11th conference of the International Society of Ethnobotany (ISE) will take place in Albacete (Spain). The theme of the conference reflects a shift in the focus of ethnobotany from what has been considered “traditional knowledge” during decades to the dynamics of knowledge, together with an increased awareness of protection of biodiversity and sustainable use of natural resources. In October, the International Society for the History of Medicine will have its 42nd Congress in Cairo (Egypt). Its main topic will be the history of medicine in Egypt, from the most remote Antiquity to yesterday, with all the cultures that flourished in Egypt, from the first Egyptians to the Mamluks and present day Egyptians, including Greeks, Romans, and Arabs. Egypt has been -- and will probably be for a certain period of time -- at the center of the attention across the globe thanks to her queen Cleopatra in a story of ethnobotany and medical tradition. A recent study claims that she did not die bitten by an aspic, but that she absorbed a deftly prepared cocktail of poisonous plants made of hemlock, opium, and aconite. A debate is open!
