St. Paul, Minn. (December 2014)--APS PRESS presents a fascinating new book that traces the evolution of plant lore and crop protection from the ancient beginnings of agriculture, through human civilization’s advances, and into the modern fields of medicine, botany, agriculture, and even witchcraft.
This new book, titled Hidden Histories and Ancient Mysteries of Witches, Plants, and Fungi by Dr. Frank Dugan of the USDA Agricultural Research Service, stitches together a wide variety of academic disciplines into a cohesive, entertaining, and historically relevant text that opens a window on the cultures of centuries past and the plants within them.
Hidden Histories and Ancient Mysteries of Witches, Plants, and Fungi is packed with unique topics, including…
- The impact of crises on social history and on the development of cultivated plants
- Archaeological and linguistic evidence for early medicinal use of ethnobotanical knowledge, particularly by women
- A discussion of medieval and Renaissance writings for pharmaceutical purposes
- Evidence of New World crops in Old World folklore
- The creation of new "ancient" traditions of ethnobotany
- The roles of plants and agriculture in contemporary customs of possible pagan origin, focusing especially on those meant to protect crop and livestock health
Dr. Dugan offers new perspectives on these topics thanks to recent advances in archaeobotany, molecular-genetics, paleolinguistics, paleo- and historical climatology, agricultural history, and comparative folklore.
This unique book applies to many individuals whose interests and areas of study include agricultural history, evolutionary plant pathology and mycology, plant protection history, ethnobotany, women’s studies, herbal medicine, and folklore. Select chapters can be an excellent complement to classes in these disciplines.
Visit www.shopapspress.org to learn more about this and other important titles from APS PRESS.
Book Specifications and Data
©2015; 8” × 10” paperback; 192 pages (est.); 33 images; 1 pound; ISBN 978-0-89054-465-5
This book is published by The American Phytopathological Society (APS) and may be purchased for $69.95 plus S&H from APS PRESS.
Review copies of Hidden Histories and Ancient Mysteries of Witches, Plants, and Fungi are available. If you are interested in reviewing this book for your publication and can forward a copy of the published review within six months of receiving the book, please send your request with details of your publication to us here.
NOTE: Digital artwork of the book’s cover is available by contacting Dawn Wuest using the contact information provided. Please specify if the artwork will be used for print or electronic media.
