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Ethnobotany of Mexico pp 257–285Cite as

Evolutionary Ethnobotanical Studies of Incipient Domestication of Plants in Mesoamerica

Part of the Ethnobiology book series (EBL)

Abstract

Human cultures that occupied the area currently known as Mesoamerica developed a broad repertory of technologies for managing the biotic resources and ecosystems of the surrounding areas they lived. These technologies emerged from early experiences and had long time, enough for leading to the first forms of agriculture of the New World. Mesoamerica is actually recognized as one of the regions where agriculture and domestication of plants originated, with nearly 10,000 years of antiquity. This chapter summarizes ethnobotanical, ecological, and evolutionary information documented in different regions of Mexico, combining different research approaches in order to understand the human motives for managing plant resources, and the ecological and evolutionary consequences of management of plants and ecosystems. We therefore analyse those processes involving domestication as part of general design of nature according to human needs and desires, occurring at the levels of plant population of particular species, but also at the level of ecosystems and landscapes. We pay particular attention in the analysis of plant species that in the Mesoamerican area have wild and domesticated populations and maintain reproductive interactions. These interactions allow exploring practices and natural processes intervening in conforming populations in which divergence populations guided by natural and artificial selection and other evolutionary forces are occurring. Because natural processes continually weaken the human activities, the divergence is relatively slight and we have therefore called these processes incipient domestication. We analyse the cases of traditional greens called ‘quelites’ such as Anoda cristata and Crotalaria pumila in which people distinguish favourable and unfavourable morphs and practice artificial selection resulting in the abundance of the favourable morphs in areas more intensively managed. Similarly, some examples are analysed of trees (Leucaena esculenta, Crescentia spp. Spondias purpurea, S. mombin, and Sideroxylon palmeri), agaves (Agave inaequidens and A. hookeri), and columnar cacti (Escontria chiotilla, Myrtillocactus schenckii, Pachycereus hollianus, Polaskia spp., Stenocereus spp.). In the cases studied we analysed divergence in morphology, reproduction, population genetics, and germination patterns, among other features, between wild, silvicultural managed and cultivated populations. These case studies allow demonstrating that evolutionary divergence influenced by humans occurs not only under agriculture but also under silvicultural management and we hypothesize that domestication under silvicultural systems could have leaded to the origins of agriculture.

Different disciplines have generated relevant information for answering questions about when, where, and how agriculture and domestication originated. However, the answers about how and why these processes arose continue being motive of intense debate. With the information from our case studies we aspire to contribute elements of ongoing processes of domestication that could provide important examples about how processes could have happened in the past. In addition to their theoretical value, these cases may also contribute to establish important bases of policies for conserving the Mesoamerican biocultural heritage, as well as technological experiences that may be useful for the sustainable management of local resources and ecosystems.

Keywords

  • Mesoamerica
  • Domestication
  • Ethnobotany
  • Incipient domestication
  • Sustainable management

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the DGAPA, UNAM (projects IN205111-3 and IN209214), and the CONACYT (projects CB-2008-01-103551 and CB-2013-01-221800), Mexico for their financial support. We also thank Edgar Pérez Negrón, Heberto Ferreira, and Alberto Valencia for field assistance and computer work. We especially thank the kindness and generosity of the peoples of the regions we have worked and that have shared their valuable knowledge and have permitted our work in their land.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad (IIES), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus Morelia, Michoacán, Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro 8711, Col. San José de la Huerta, Morelia, Michoacán, C.P. 58190, Mexico

    Alejandro Casas Ph.D., Fabiola Parra Dra., Susana Guillén Dr., Carmen J. Figueredo, Ignacio Torres & Selene Rangel-Landa M.Sc.

  2. Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático (INECC), Periférico Sur 5000, Col. Insurgentes Cuicuilco, Delegación Coyoacán, Distrito Federal, 04530, Mexico

    Adriana Otero-Arnaiz

  3. Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Avenue NE., Atlanta, GA, 30309, USA

    Jeniffer Cruse-Sanders

  4. Unidad de Biotecnología y Prototipos (UBIPRO), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Tlalnepantla, Estado de México, Mexico

    Rafael Lira Ph.D.

  5. Salud Intercultural, Universidad Intercultural del Estado de Mexico, Libramiento Francisco Villa S/N, Centro, San Felipe del Progreso, 50640, Estado de México, Mexico

    Aidé Avendaño Ph.D.

  6. Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación (CIByC), Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad No. 1001, Col. Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, P.C. 62209, Mexico

    José Blancas Ph.D.

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  1. Alejandro Casas Ph.D.
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  2. José Blancas Ph.D.
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  3. Adriana Otero-Arnaiz
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  4. Jeniffer Cruse-Sanders
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  5. Rafael Lira Ph.D.
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  6. Aidé Avendaño Ph.D.
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  7. Fabiola Parra Dra.
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  8. Susana Guillén Dr.
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  9. Carmen J. Figueredo
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  10. Ignacio Torres
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  11. Selene Rangel-Landa M.Sc.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alejandro Casas Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Unidad de Biotecnología y Prototipos(UBI, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Estado de Mexico, Mexico

    Rafael Lira

  2. Instituto de Ivestigaciones en Ecosistem, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

    Alejandro Casas

  3. Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morel, Colonia Chamilpa, Cuernavaca,, Morelos, Mexico

    José Blancas

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Casas, A. et al. (2016). Evolutionary Ethnobotanical Studies of Incipient Domestication of Plants in Mesoamerica. In: Lira, R., Casas, A., Blancas, J. (eds) Ethnobotany of Mexico. Ethnobiology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6669-7_11

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