CONICET researchers worked on a book about the Jesuit missions in Northeast Argentina

CONICET scientists participated in the publication of the book “Las Misiones del Noreste Argentino: Escenario de Intercambio de Plantas y Conocimientos entre el Viejo y el Nuevo Mundo.” The work was co-published by the Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNaM) and the Editorial de la Universidad de Córdoba, Spain, where it will soon be presented.

The book focuses on the analysis of various aspects of the species that were cultivated in the missionary orchards of the Jesuit reductions. Its objective is to highlight the enormous enrichment of the cultural heritage that occurred in that period of human history.

The edition of the book was in charge of Norma Hilgert, CONICET researcher at the Instituto de Biología Subtropical (IBS, CONICET – UNaM); Pablo César Stampella, CONICET researcher at the Facultad de Ciencias Naturales and the Museo de la Universidad Nacional de la Plata (UNLP); and María Lelia Pochettino, CONICET researcher at the same workplace. Esteban Hernández Bermejo, professor emeritus of the Universidad de Córdoba, Spain, also participated as editor.

On May 2, the book will be presented in Spain, in which specialists from Argentina will participate virtually. Special guests representing Vatican City, the Jesuit Order, universities and the Argentine Chancellery in Spain will also participate.

According to the introduction to the book, the authors emphasize that the objective of the work is to continue deepening the knowledge of the missionary phenomenon of the Order of Jesus in the Guarani world. The book is aimed at the general public, and particularly aimed at visitors to the reductions found in the province of Misiones.

It is worth mentioning that this book is part of the “Program for the Incorporation of ethnobotanical contents in the Historical-archaeological complex of the Jesuit Reductions in Misiones (Argentina): Towards a Jesuit-Guaraní Ethnobotanical Garden” The book was also partially financed by Oriented Research Projects (PIO ) of the CONICET.