Exploitation of wild plants by the early Neolithic hunter–gatherers of the Western Desert, Egypt: Nabta Playa as a case-study

Antiquity ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 71 (274) ◽  
pp. 932-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystyna Wasylikowa ◽  
Józef Mitka ◽  
Fred Wendorf ◽  
Romuald Schild
Keyword(s):  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Western Desert ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Agricultural Societies

The role of plants in the subsistence economy of pre-agricultural societies of the eastern Sahara is poorly known because vegetal remains, except for wood charcoal, are seldom found in archaeological sites. Site E-75-6 at Nabta Playa, with rich assemblages of charred seeds and fruits, is exceptional. Around 8000 b.p. the inhabitants of this site collected a wide spectrum of wild food plants. Wild sorghum was of special interest and its occasional cultivation cannot be excluded.

scholarly journals Contribution of the Wild Food Plants in the Food System of Tribal Belt of Pakistan; The Pak - Afghan Border Region

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shujaul Mulk Khan ◽  
Abdullah Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
Fast Food ◽  
Food System ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Wild Food Plants

The tribal belt of Pakistan-the Pak-Afghan border region is famous for its unique culture, ethnography and wild food plants and traditional knowledge. People of these regions gather wild plants for number of purposes including plants or plant parts for direct use, use it in the traditional cuisines and selling in local markets. However, there is huge lack of documentation of food system particularly the Wild Food Plants (WFPs). In current study we have focused on the uses and contributions of the WFPs in the tribal traditional food system. The ethnobotanical data were gathered through questionnaire surveys with Eighty-four informants 69 men and 15 women belonging to 21 different villages. We documented Sixty-three WFP species belonging to 34 botanical families, of which 27 were used as vegetables, 24 as fruits, 6 in different kinds of chutneys (starters) formation and six as fresh food species. Fruits were the mostly used part (40%) followed by leaves (24%), aerial parts (24%), seeds (7%), stem (3%), legume (2%) and young inflorescence (1%). Use of Carthamus oxycanthus & Pinus roxburghii seeds and Marsillea quadrifolia leaves were the novel reports for the gastronomy of Pakistan. The results elucidate that WFPs have a significant contribution in the Tribal Food Systems. Tribal people use WFPs not only due to their nutritional importance but also as a cultural practice - an inseparable component of the tribal communities. This important traditional Knowledge about the consumption of WFPs has been eroding with an alarming speed among the younger generations due to introduction of fast food chains, modernization, and globalization. Therefore, appropriates strategies are imperative not only to safeguard traditional knowledge but also the cultural heritage, food security and hence public healthcare via food supplement in the region.

scholarly journals Nutrtional profile of some selected food plants of Otwal and Ngai sub counties Oyam district, northern Uganda

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (57) ◽  
pp. 7428-7451
Author(s):  
A Acipa ◽  
◽  
M Kamatenesi-Mugisha ◽  
H Oryem-Origa
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Food Plant ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Mineral Nutrient ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Nutrient Deficiencies ◽  
Indigenous Plants ◽  
General Decline

Wild food plants play an important role in the diet of inhabitants of Oyam District. Some of these plants are drought -resistant and gathered throughout the year . These wild foods are an important source of nutrients. However, there is a lack of comprehensive data re garding the nutrient content s of these indigenous plants. The purpose of this study was to document and assess the nutrient and mineral content s of the selected food plants. Ethnobotanical surveys were used to collect data through formal and informal inter views and focused group discussions. Voucher specimens were collected during field excursions and taken to Makerere Herbarium for proper identification . Nutrients and mineral analyses of wild and cultivated fruits, seeds, underground organs and vegetables from Ngai and Otwal sub counties were carried out using known procedures. They were analysed for mineral nutrients such as calcium, iron, potassium, and phosphorus concentrations. Additionally nutrients such proteins, beta carotene, vitamin C and dietary fibre were determined . On average, vegetables were found to be richer in organic nutrients and minerals followed by fruits and seeds in that order . Generally the wild food plant species were found to be richer sources of mineral nutrient than their cultivated relatives. F or example , the highest concentration of calcium 867.59 mg/100g was found in Acalypha bipartita leaves compared to 294.18 mg/100g in Cleome gynandra . Plant species that showed high iron contents [>30% ] were leaves of swamp hibiscus , African spider flowers , fruits of Tamarind , Black night shade and Jews mallow . It was also noted that among the food plant species analysed, fruits were low in nutrients and mineral elements. Some of these food plants were also considered to have medicinal properties by the locals such as African spider flower, Rattle pod among others. However, it should be noted that there is a general decline in the consumption of wild plants , despite the apparent high nutritional values . T he conservation of wild food plants is not taking place among the communities in the study area, thus the poor rural communities who are limited on balancing their diet could be faced with diseases associated with nutrient deficiencies .

scholarly journals Wild food plants of Remote Oceania

2012 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Will C. McClatchey
Keyword(s):  
Western Pacific ◽  
Leafy Vegetables ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Wild Foods ◽  
Agricultural Society ◽  
Tropical Western Pacific ◽  
Agricultural Societies ◽  
Vegetables And Fruits

Agricultural societies partly depend upon wild foods. Relationships between an agricultural society and its wild foods can be explored by examining how the society responds through colonization of new lands that have not been previously inhabited. The oldest clear example of this phenomenon took place about 5000 years ago in the tropical Western Pacific at the “boundary” interface between Near and Remote Oceania. An inventory of wild and domesticated food plants used by people living along “the remote side of ” that interface has been prepared from the literature. This was then assessed for the roles of plants at the time of original colonization of Remote Oceania. The majority of species are wild foods, and most of these are used as leafy vegetables and fruits. The wild food plants mostly serve as supplements to domesticated species, although there are a few that can be used as substitutes for traditional staples.

scholarly journals Medicinal and wild food plants of Marmara Island (Balikesir – Turkey)

2016 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gizem Bulut
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Herbal Remedies ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Ethnobotanical Study ◽  
Mentha Spicata ◽  
Salvia Fruticosa

Medicinal and wild food plants have always played an important role in people’s lives especially in rural areas. Similar situation can be said for islands due to the reason of them being isolated from mainland. This paper reports an ethnobotanical investigations performed in 2009 and 2014 to determine medicinal and wild food plants of Marmara Island. A total of 30 individuals were interviewed (19 men, 11 women). Totally, 22 plants are recorded as used as traditional folk medicine for the region, and nine of these are also used as a source of wild food. Furthermore, 18 taxa are wild sources of nutrition for the area. The plants most commonly used in the region as medicinal remedies were <em>Salvia fruticosa</em>, <em>Hypericum perforatum</em>, <em>Ficus carica</em>, and <em>Mentha spicata</em>. Plants are mostly used for the treatment of abdominal pain, the common cold, and haemorrhoids. The species most commonly used for food are: <em>Salvia fruticosa</em>, <em>Arbutus unedo</em>, <em>Rhus coriaria</em>, and <em>Rubus sanctus</em>. This ethnobotanical study conducted in this island will enable the traditional use of wild plants both as food sources and herbal remedies to be passed on to future generations.

scholarly journals Unity in Diversity - Food Plants and Fungi of Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer W Bussmann ◽  
Narel Y Paniagua Zambrana ◽  
Inayat Ur Rahman ◽  
Zaal Kikvidze ◽  
Shalva Sikharulidze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diversity Indices ◽  
Food Plant ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Republic Of Georgia ◽  
Plant Use ◽  
The Difference

Abstract Background: The Republic of Georgia is part of the Caucasus biodiversity hotspot, and human agricultural plant use dates bat at least 6000 years. Over the last years lots of ethnobotanical research on the area has been published. In this paper we analyze the use of food plants in the 80% of Georgia not occupied by Russian forces. We hypothesized that, (1) given the long tradition of plant use, and the isolation under Soviet rule, plant use both based on home gardens and wild harvesting would be more pronounced in Georgia than in the wider region, (2) food plant use knowledge would be widely and equally spread in most of Georgia, (3) there would still be incidence of knowledge loss despite wide plant use, especially in climatically favored agricultural regions in Western and Eastern Georgia.Methods: From 2013 to 2019 we interviewed over 380 participants in all regions of Georgia not occupied by Russian forces and recorded over 19800 mentions of food plants. All interviews were carried out in the participants’ homes and gardens by native speakers of Georgian and its dialects (Imeretian, Rachian, Lechkhumian, Tush, Khevsurian, Psavian, Kakhetian), other Kartvelian languages (Megrelian, Svan) and minority languages (Ossetian, Ude, Azeri, Armenian, Greek). Results: The regional division was based primarily on historic provinces of Georgia, which often coincides with the current administrative borders. The total number of taxa, mostly identified to species, was 474. Taxonomically, the difference between two food plant groups - garden versus wild - was strongly pronounced even at family level. The richness of plant families was 66 versus 97 families in garden versus wild plants, respectively, and the difference was highly significant. Other diversity indices also unequivocally pointed to considerably more diverse family composition of wild versus garden plants as the differences between all the tested diversity indices appeared to be highly significant.Conclusions: Relationships among the regions in the case of wild food plants show a different and clearer pattern. In particular, adjacent regions cluster together (Kvemo Zemo Racha, and Zemo Imereti; Samegrelo, Guria, Adjara, Lechkhumi and Kvemo and Zemo Svaneti; Meskheti, Javakheti, Kvemo Kartli; Mtianeti, Kakheti, Khevsureti, Tusheti. Like in the case of the garden food plants, species diversity of wild food plants mentioned varied strongly. Climate severity and traditions of the use of wild food plants might play role in this variation. Overall food plant knowledge is widely spread all across Georgia, and broadly maintained

scholarly journals Shared but Threatened: The Heritage of Wild Food Plant Gathering among Different Linguistic and Religious Groups in the Ishkoman and Yasin Valleys, North Pakistan

Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Abdul Aziz ◽  
Arshad Mehmood Abbasi ◽  
Zahid Ullah ◽  
Andrea Pieroni
Keyword(s):  
Artemisia Annua ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Wild Food Plant ◽  
North Pakistan ◽  
Islamic Faith

A wild food ethnobotanical field study was conducted in the Ishkoman and Yasin valleys, located in the Hindukush Mountain Range of Gilgit-Baltistan, northern Pakistan. These valleys are inhabited by diverse, often marginalized, linguistic and religious groups. The field survey was conducted via one hundred and eighty semistructured interviews to record data in nine villages. Forty gathered wild food botanical and mycological taxa were recorded and identified. Comparative analysis among the different linguistic and religious groups revealed that the gathered wild food plants were homogenously used. This may be attributed to the sociocultural context of the study area, where most of the population professes the Ismaili Shia Islamic faith, and to the historical stratifications of different populations along the centuries, which may have determined complex adaptation processes and exchange of possibly distinct pre-existing food customs. A few wild plants had very rarely or never been previously reported as food resources in Pakistan, including Artemisia annua, Hedysarum falconeri, Iris hookeriana, Lepidium didymium and Saussurea lappa. Additionally, the recorded local knowledge is under threat and we analyzed possible factors that have caused this change. The recorded biocultural heritage could, however, represent a crucial driver, if properly revitalized, for assuring the food security of the local communities and also for further developing ecotourism and associated sustainable gastronomic initiatives in the area.

scholarly journals Wild plants and the food-medicine continuum—an ethnobotanical survey in Chapada Diamantina (Northeastern Brazil)

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia Muniz de Medeiros ◽  
Karina Ferreira Figueiredo ◽  
Paulo Henrique Santos Gonçalves ◽  
Roberta de Almeida Caetano ◽  
Élida Monique da Costa Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Ethnobotanical Survey ◽  
Traditional Use ◽  
Plant Component ◽  
Chapada Diamantina ◽  
Medicinal Value

Abstract Background Ethnobotanical research has demonstrated that several wild food plants (WFP) are used for medicinal purposes. Therefore, in addition to constituting an important source of nutrients, WFP can be used to help treat and avoid health problems. This study sought to characterize the traditional use of plants considered simultaneously as food and medicine by local specialists in the community of Caeté-Açu, which borders Chapada Diamantina National Park (NE Brazil). We also sought to identify the variables that influence the species’ cultural importance. Methods We selected local specialists based on a snowball sample and used a free-listing technique to register the wild plants they knew that are both edible and medicinal. Then, we asked the specialists to rank each plant component cited according to the following attributes: (1) ease of acquisition, (2) taste, (3) smell, (4) nutritional value, and (5) medicinal value. We used multiple regression to determine the variables that influence the cultural salience. Results The most culturally salient species was Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenis. The main medicinal effects associated with this species were related to body strengthening, intestinal regulation, and stomach issues. The most salient used species were those that were easiest to acquire and had the highest perceived nutritional values. Conclusion It is likely that the sociocultural backgrounds of the respondents (elders, former miners, or descendants of miners) and the historical importance of wild food plants to local diets increased the predictive power of the perceived nutritional importance and ease of acquisition of these plants.

scholarly journals The Fading Wild Plant Food–Medicines in Upper Chitral, NW Pakistan

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2494
Author(s):  
Muhammad Abdul Aziz ◽  
Zahid Ullah ◽  
Muhammad Adnan ◽  
Renata Sõukand ◽  
Andrea Pieroni
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Ethnobotanical Survey ◽  
Medicinal Uses ◽  
Food Ingredients

The subject of food–medicines (foods ingested in order to obtain a therapeutic activity or to prevent diseases) is garnering increasing attention from both ethnobiologists and ethnopharmacologists as diet-related chronic diseases are one of the major problems resulting in a large proportion of deaths globally, which calls for interest from the scientific community to make sensible decisions in the field of food and medicine. In this regard, the current study is an important attempt at providing baseline data for developing healthy and curative food ingredients. This study aimed at recording the culinary and medicinal uses of wild food plants (WFPs) in the remote Mastuj Valley, located at the extreme north of Chitral District, Pakistan. An ethnobotanical survey was completed via 30 in-depth semi-structured interviews with local knowledge holders to record the food and medicinal uses of WFPs in the study area. A total of 43 WFPs were recorded, most of which were used as cooked vegetables and raw snacks. Leaves were the most frequently used plant part. A remarkable proportion (81%) of use reports for the recorded wild plant taxa were quoted as food–medicines or medicinal foods, while very few were reported as either food or medicines, without any relationship between uses in these two domains. Previous ethnomedicinal studies from nearby regions have shown that most of the recorded wild plants have been used as medicines, thus supporting the findings of the current study. A literature survey revealed that many of the reported medicinal uses (33%) for the quoted WFPs were not verifiable on PubMed as they have not been studied for their respective medicinal actions. We observed that most of the plants quoted here have disappeared from the traditional food and medicinal system, which may be attributed to the invasion of the food market and the prevalence of allopathic medicine. However, knowledge of these wild plants is still alive in memory, and women are the main holders of cultural knowledge as they use it to manage the cooking and processing of WFPs. Therefore, in this context, we strongly recommend the preservation of local biocultural heritage, promoted through future development and educational programs, which could represent a timely response to the loss of cultural and traditional knowledge.

scholarly journals Historical ethnobotanical review of wild edible plants of Estonia (1770s–1960s)

2012 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raivo Kalle ◽  
Renata Sõukand
Keyword(s):  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Reliable Determination ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Wild Berries

This paper is a historical ethnobotanical review of wild plants used by the residents of present day Estonia during the 1770s–1960s. Twenty two sources addressing historical ethnographical accounts of the use of wild food plants were analysed. The use of 147 taxa of vascular plants (over 6% of Estonian vascular flora) and two lichens has been recorded. Although the data does not allow for reliable determination of the frequency of use of specific taxa among the population, general conclusions on the preferences for specific dishes made of wild food plants can be made. While the category of snacks covers the largest proportion of species used, a substantial addition to food rations was provided by bread ingredients (used predominantly in famine times), green vegetables used for making soup, and later jams and other dishes of wild berries. Also beverages (tea and coffee substitutes), beer and beer-like drinks were widely made, and the saps of several tree species were consumed in fresh and fermented form. The most important species, according to the criterion of diversity of use, were <em>Carum carvi</em>, <em>Urtica dioica</em>, and the wild berries <em>V</em><em>ac</em><em>cinium vitis-idaea </em>and <em>Vaccinium myrtillus</em>.

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