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SUMMARY:Knowledge on wild plants in BaYaka hunter-gatherers and its implic
 ations on cultural evolution and health - Gul Deniz Salali (University Col
 lege London)
DTSTART:20180124T163000Z
DTEND:20180124T173000Z
UID:TALK98935@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Michael Rivera
DESCRIPTION:Knowledge of the wild plants has historically been an essentia
 l function of culture and is especially important for health and nutrition
  in small-scale populations. The wide sharing of adaptive knowledge\, whic
 h contributes to an individual’s chance of survival and reproductive suc
 cess may explain the resilience of current day populations who do not have
  access to modern medicine. Here\, I study the knowledge and use of 33 pla
 nts in 219 BaYaka hunter-gatherers living in the northern rainforests of C
 ongo-Brazzaville. I investigate shared knowledge of plant uses among indiv
 iduals to examine the role of human social structure in cultural evolution
 . I find that marital ties facilitate the exchange and accumulation of med
 icinal plant knowledge\, demonstrating the importance of exogamy and pair-
 bonding in cultural evolution. I then analyse potential health effects of 
 medicinal plant use.  My results show that the majority of the medicinal p
 lants that are used by the BaYaka are also used by other Pygmy populations
 \, chimpanzees\, and gorillas. Moreover\, BaYaka mothers who use more plan
 ts for treating respiratory disorders have children with higher body-mass-
 index. Finally\, I examine the variation in wild plant use and consumption
  in different BaYaka groups and its implications on health.
LOCATION:Seminar Room\, Henry Wellcome Building\, Division of Biological A
 nthropology\, Fitzwilliam Street\, Cambridge\, CB2 3QG
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