| This dissertation is an archaeological, historical, and ethnographic study of medicinal plant use by people of the African Diaspora in southeastern North America. The Roots of Healing is a comprehensive synthesis of past and contemporary herbal healing practices encompassing various thematic components and research questions including: (1) the socio-cultural history of the African Diaspora and the rationale for the use of folk medicine as opposed to biomedicine, (2) species of medicinal plants employed and their reported diachronic and synchronic medicinal properties, (3) cultural origin of remedies, (4) archaeological correlates for folk medicine, and (5) regional variation of herbal remedies. In essence, this dissertation answers the fundamental questions of why, how, who, what, when, and where of African-American herbal medicine. |
