Medical Ethnobiology of the Highland Maya of Chiapas, Mexico: The Gastrointestinal Diseases (Princeton Legacy Library) - Brossura

Berlin, Elois Ann

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0691602719 ISBN 13: 9780691602714

Casa editrice: Princeton University Press, 2015

Riassunto

Whereas most previous work on Maya healing has focused on ritual and symbolism, this book presents evidence that confirms the scientific foundations of traditional Maya medicine. Data drawn from analysis of the medical practices of two Mayan-speaking peoples, the Tzeltal and Tzotzil, reveal that they have developed a large number of herbal remedies based on a highly sophisticated understanding of the physiology and symptomatology of common diseases and on an in-depth knowledge of medicinal plants. Here Elois Ann Berlin and Brent Berlin, along with their many collaborators, provide detailed information on Maya disease classification, symptomatology, and treatment of the most significant health conditions affecting the Highland Maya, the gastrointestinal diseases.

The authors base their work on broad-ranging comparative ethno-medical and ethnobotanical data collected over seven years of original field research. In describing the Mayas' understanding and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, Berlin and Berlin show that the plants used as remedies are condition specific.> Moreover, laboratory studies demonstrate that the most commonly agreed upon herbal remedies are potentially effective against the pathogenic agents underlying specific diseases and that they strongly affect the physiological processes associated with intestinal peristalsis. These findings suggest that the traditional Maya medical system is the result of long-term explicit empirical experimentation with the effects of herbal remedies on bodily function.

Originally published in 1996.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Su questo libro

Contenuti

	List of Figures
	List of Tables
	List of Plates
	Preface
	Contributors
Ch. 1	Introduction	3
Ch. 2	The Diarrheas	91
Ch. 3	The Abdominal Pains	281
Ch. 4	The Worms	400
Ch. 5	Summary and Conclusions	438
	Appendix: Pharmacological Activity of Plant Species Used as Admixtures	455
	Glossary of Technical Terms	471
	References	485
	Index of Maya Terms	501
	General Index	513

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Princeton University Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0691602719
• ISBN 13: 9780691602714
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 592