Nausiaq=:plant : Ethnobotanical Classification in Shishmaref, Alaska

McIntosh SJ. 1999. Nausiaq=:plant : Ethnobotanical Classification in Shishmaref, Alaska. University of Alaska Fairbanks, Department of Anthropology

Unpublished MA Thesis. "This thesis represents the first attempt of ethnobotanical classification in the Arctic. It documents the terms, uses, and preparation techniques of plants used by the Iñupiat people of Shishmaref, Alaska. It also analyzes the system of plant classification using hypotheses generated by Brent Berlin and Cecil Brown, building on the foundation of ethnoscience and cognitive anthropology. This analysis results in two very different folk taxonomic rank models, one which may represent an earlier system of classification, and the other which may be a result of Western influence. However, neither model accurately depicts the system of categorization found in Shishmaref. Instead, such a model would represent the dynamic and cyclical properties of the Iñupiaq worldview, instead of the hierarchic categories of Western science. The data presented in this thesis is a result of fieldwork, including interviews of local experts, carried out during the summer of 1998 in Shishmaref, Alaska"

Type
Academic
Authors
McIntosh, Stacie
Date of Issue
1999-04
Publisher
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Department of Anthropology
Units
BELA
Keywords
Anthropology, botany, ethnobotany, Inupiaq, Shishmaref, thesis

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