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Ethnobotany of Mesa Verde |
Mesa Verde is located in the southwestern part of the state of Colorado. A series of table mountains, canyons and arroyos, it is best known for the cliff dwellings built there by the Ancestral Puebloans. The land of Mesa Verde encompasses several microclimates where a wide diversity of plants are found. These plants have played an important role in the lives of all the peoples who have inhabited this land.
Ethnobotany is the study of people’s relationship to plants. The Ancestral Puebloans had a reverential relationship to the land and to the plants that grow there. Plants were used as food, beverages, medicine, fuel, containers, clothing, dyes, tools, implements, construction materials and ritual objects by the Ancestral Puebloans.
In this class, we will seek to understand the relationship of plants to this complex and varied land. We will also focus on the traditional relationship between the land and the people who were sustained by it due to their comprehensive knowledge of the plant life there. We will focus on plant identification, the practical and medicinal use of plants, and plant cultivation methods in the Mesa Verde area.
Most important, however, will be our focus on the sacred and mysterious relationship between the land, the plants, the animals and the humans of this unique and inspiring place. Specifically, we will explore the role of the Kachina, or Ketsina, a group of spirits whose name, in Hopi, means "life bringer." We will seek to understand the Kachina's role in mediating the Ancestral Puebloans' understanding of the natural world and the world of spirit.
We will stay at a lodge at the top of Mesa Verde. We will be hiking in several areas around Mesa Verde. No hike will be very strenuous, but participants should be able to navigate rough terrain. The fees include ground transportation, lodging and tuition. They do not include meals. There is a cafeteria and a restaurant at the lodge where reasonably priced meals can be obtained. The class is led by Isa Gucciardi. Isa has been a student of the herbal medicine traditions and the pottery-making traditions of the North American southwest for 30 years.
Details
- Location: Mesa Verde
- Dates: June 4 - 8, 2008
- Instructors: Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
- Tuition: $1195; Early Registration Discount $1150 by March 15, 2008
- Participants arrange their own air travel & meals.
- Space is limited. Please reserve early.
Register at
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or 415-333-1434.
Prerequisite: Introduction to the Shamanic Journey or equivalent, tutorials available. Please visit our Complete Calendar for details, or contact us at
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