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1 January 2004 The Use of Tropical Forest (Agroecosystems and Wild Plant Harvesting) as a Source of Food in the Bribri and Cabecar Cultures in the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica
Carlos Ramos García-Serrano, Juan Pablo Del Monte
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Abstract

For the Bribri and the Cabecar Indians of Costa Rica the environment is divided in two: the “near”, indigenous space; and the “far”, natural space, which they think does not belong to them. In the former, the following agroecosystems can be distinguished according to biodiversity and intensity of human activity: tropical home garden, rotating slash-and-burn agriculture, plantain polyculture, and plantain monoculture. In the “far” space, these two culturally close groups harvest wild plants observing ancestral rules, which have helped ensure a sustainable use of forest resources. Their diet is based on 84 species, of which 24 are harvested in the “far” environment (hombrón, semko, platanillo, tacaco, etc.) and 60 are obtained in the “near” environment (maize, bean, cacao, manioc, etc.). Owing to acculturation, exotic species (mainly rice, sugarcane, plantain, cacao and citrus fruit) have become part of their diet and crops.

Carlos Ramos García-Serrano and Juan Pablo Del Monte "The Use of Tropical Forest (Agroecosystems and Wild Plant Harvesting) as a Source of Food in the Bribri and Cabecar Cultures in the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica," Economic Botany 58(1), 58-71, (1 January 2004). https://doi.org/10.1663/0013-0001(2004)058[0058:TUOTFA]2.0.CO;2
Received: 12 June 2000; Accepted: 1 August 2002; Published: 1 January 2004
JOURNAL ARTICLE
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KEYWORDS
Agroecosystems
Bribri
Cabecar
Costa Rica
ethnobotany food plants
Indigenous cultures
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