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FAMSI © 2007: Jonathan D. Amith |
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Nahuatl Cultural Encyclopedia: Botany and Zoology, Balsas River, Guerrero
Biological Inventory A preliminary list of life forms collected or seen in the Balsas River Valley is given in the appendices to this report. Approximately 1,200 plant specimens, 250 animals (not including mammals and avefauna) have been collected and are being identified by expert taxonomists from around the world. Avefauna has been identified mostly through a visit with Nahuatl-speaking consultants to a museum where specimens were displayed to the consultants, sightings by an expert ornithologist in the field, and song recordings proporcioned by the Cornell Orthnithology Lab.
Botanical specimens have been doubled since FAMSI support started in 2004. There are now approximately 1,200 specimens (all professionally mounted according to herbarium specifications) representing some 600+ species (a catalogue is being prepared). Not all species have Nahuatl names, although at least from the Balsas River Valley probably close to 90–95% of Nahuatl named flora has been collected (and perhaps 90% of this subset identified to species). Recently agreements have been reached with two indigenous villages (San Miguel Tecuiciapan and Atliaca) to leave a mounted copy of the Nahuatl-named specimens in their territory with the community. In San Miguel this material will be given to the local high school; in Atliaca it has been donated to the comisaria municipal.
Most birds have been documented through sightings or museum visits and further identified in Nahuatl through sound recordings of birdsongs (provided by the Cornell Ornithology Lab) and photos. Only Nahuatl-named insects (approximately 75–100) have been collected and are being identified through the Instituto de Biología (UNAM) in México City and the Smithsonian Institution (Washington). Only Nahuatl-named reptiles and fish are being collected, and these are being identifed at the Facultad de Ciencias and Instituto de Biología (respectively).
The appendices report the status of material collected to date. Scientific names are followed by Nahuatl names obtained in consultation with local consultants. It needs to be noted that this is a representation of raw field data and no effort at this point has been made to determine "correct" and "incorrect" identifications nor to fully explore local variation in nomenclature. The original database also contains extensive notes from interviews with consultants during field collection about the use and morphology or life cycle of the collected flora and fauna. These notes are presently being culled and analyzed for a publication on Nahuatl ethnobiology.
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