SGER: Exploratory Research On Medical Ethnobotany of the Mopan and Q'eqchi' Maya

这项探索性研究小额赠款项目涉及一项试点研究，对伯利兹南部的莫潘和Q‘eqchi’玛雅的药用植物区系进行比较民族植物学调查。世界卫生组织估计，世界上三分之二的人口依靠植物性药物作为初级卫生保健。然而，迄今为止，从比较的角度来看，关于文化知识与药用植物利用与生物物理环境之间的相互作用的研究相对较少。本研究的主要前提是磨盘人和Q‘eqchi’玛雅人对药用植物生态学有着深入的、广泛分布的、基于经验的知识。人们对生物物理环境与这两种民族植物学和民族医学系统的关系以及它们之间的关系了解甚少。该项目旨在了解药用植物的知识和行为，以及不同社区和文化之间的差异。更广泛的影响：本研究提供了一个框架，以发展一个长期的教育和研究项目，积极纳入研究生在人类学和其他学科；积极招收土著学生参加佛罗里达大学的研究生项目；促进佛罗里达大学国际化的重大举措；加强伯利兹的中学、本科和研究生教育倡议；加强跨学科的合作。此外，它将建立在佛罗里达大学与伯利兹国际合作机构之间的现有合作基础上，并建立新的关系。研究结果将通过跨学科出版物和将研究与教育结合起来的外联活动广泛传播，以增进科学理解。

This Small Grant for Exploratory Research project involves a pilot study to conduct a comparative ethnobotanical survey of the medicinal flora of the Mopan and Q'eqchi' Maya of Southern Belize. The World Health Organization estimates that two-thirds of the world's populations rely on plant based medicines for their primary health care. However, to date there is relatively little research on the interaction between cultural knowledge and use of medicinal plants in relation to the biophysical environment, in a comparative perspective. The main premise of this research is that the Mopan and Q'eqchi' Maya have an in-depth, widely distributed, empirically based knowledge of medicinal plant ecology. What is poorly understood is the relation of the biophysical environment to these two ethnobotanical and ethnomedical systems and how they relate to each other. This project seeks to understand both knowledge and behavior with regards to medicinal plants and how variation across communities and cultures occurs.Broader Impacts: This research provides a framework to develop a long-termeducation and research project that actively incorporates graduate students inanthropology and other disciplines; actively recruit indigenous students to the graduateprogram at the University of Florida; to contribute to an major initiative tointernationalize the University of Florida; to strengthen educational initiatives in Belizeat the secondary, undergraduate and graduate levels; and to enhance collaborations acrossdisciplines. Additionally, it will build on existing collaborations between the Universityof Florida and international partner institutions in Belize and also establish newrelationships. The results will be disseminated broadly to enhance scientificunderstanding, both in interdisciplinary publications and through outreach activities thatintegrate research with education.