Plant Technology of First Peoples in British Columbia

by Nancy J. Turner

In her third ethnobotany handbook, Nancy Turner focuses on the plants that provided heat, shelter, transportation, clothing, implements, nets, ropes and containers--the necessities of life for First Peoples in British Columbia and adjacent territories. She also shows how plant materials were effectively used in many other ways, such as for decoration and ornamentation, as scents, cleansing agents and insect repellents, and in recreational activities.

Over the millennia, the First Peoples have become highly skilled in the arts of working with plant materials. Turner describes more than a hundred of these plants, their various uses and their importance in the material cultures of First Nations. Each description has a colour photograph of the plant to aid in its identification.

Genres: History, Anthropology, Food and Drink, Indigenous, Plants

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1996

About the author

Nancy Turner is an ethnobotanist whose research integrates the fields of botany and ecology with anthropology, geography and linguistics, among others. She is interested in the traditional knowledge systems and traditional land and resource management systems of Indigenous Peoples, particularly in western Canada.

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Also will be purchasing this book! I love how much info is crammed into such a short read. I had no idea that skunk cabbage could be used (I had always assumed it was kind of useless).