Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Cognitive Prototypes in Tzeltal Maya Medicinal Plant Selection

摘要：本项目将研究Tzeltal玛雅人如何将他们对疾病的理解与植物的生物学特征相协调，以选择和保持对药用植物治疗的共识。使用以“认知原型”（来自植物和疾病领域的原型）为中心的方法，研究人员将确定玛雅人在选择药用植物时使用的变量（味道，植物分布，植物特征的文化解释等）。一些关于这些变量和选择之间关系的假设，以及关于特定疾病和植物类型之间关系的假设，将被检验。方法包括对人口样本进行结构化访谈，植物调查，以及关于植物/疾病品质的启发技术。还将收集来自玛雅移民的比较数据，以评估这些相同的认知原型在具有不同植物群的环境中指导植物选择的程度。该项目将有助于认知科学领域，并有助于我们了解土著居民如何概念化和使用药用植物来治疗疾病。

Abstract 0079499This project will investigate how Tzeltal Maya reconcile their understanding of illness with the biologically-based characteristics of plants in order to select and maintain consensus about medicinal plant cures. Using an approach centered around "cognitive prototypes" (prototypes from the domains of plants and illness), the researcher will identify variables (taste, plant distribution, cultural interpretation of plant characteristics, etc.) employed by the Maya in selecting plants for medicinal use. A number of hypotheses concerning the relationship between these variables and selection will be tested, as well as hypotheses about the relationship between specific illnesses and plant types. Methods include structured interviews with samples from the population, a plant survey, and elicitation techniques regarding plant/illness qualities. Comparative data from Maya migrants will also be gathered to assess the degree to which these same cognitive prototypes guide plant selection in environments with different flora. This project will contribute to the field of cognitive science and to our understanding of how indigenous populations conceptualize and use medicinal plants to cure illness.