Relational models and use patterns of edible plants of the Andean Patagonian forests of Argentina y Chile

LADIO A H

Recife

Congreso; VII International Congress of Ethnobotany; 2019

Universidad Federal de Pernambuco

A conceptual framework that could contribute to the spatial-temporal pattern analysis in amacro-ethnobiological approach is the concept of relational models (RM). They are defined asthe set of preferences, principles and virtues that explain the degree of responsibility towardsNature that different cultural groups have developed. Starting from the model presentedby Muradian & Pascual (2018) which they identified 7 different RMs, we have describedand analyzed RMs that have prevailed in Patagonia over time (XVIII-XXI Centuries), inorder to reflect on the contributions of this approach. Through the qualitative analysis of50 case studies of a large region that includes the provinces of Neuquén, Rio Negro andChubut (North Patagonia, Argentina) in relation to the use of wild edible plants, differentRMs are evidenced as: domination, exploitation, detachment, management, custody andmutual nurturing. The ethnobotanical works show that the RMs with the plants vary overtime, according to the study group and the species involved. The theoretical analysis of thesemodels has allowed us to evaluate and integrate fragmentary and scattered information onthe subject, and to glimpse the importance of a more complete study of the local RMs, theirtemporal historical variation and the affecting factors. People?s negative relations towardsnature requires addressing how humans construct their complex mechanisms of interaction,and how we can change such framings. Finally, it is evident that the RM of mutual nurturingof Mapuche Tehuelche communities is a model that has an environmental ethic that wouldbe key to achieving greater sustainability in the use of the native edible plants of Patagonia.