Humboldt's Nodes and Modes of Interdisciplinary Environmental Science in the Andean World

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4489607
AutoresK S Zimmerer (0000-0002-3616-4862, Institute of Geography of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, autor de correspondencia)
Año2006
Volumen96
Número3
Páginas335-360
Fecha de publicación2006-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaGeographical Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0016-7428 • E-ISSN: 1931-0846
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1931-0846.2006.tb00255.x
OpenAlexW2111593551
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas42

Alexander von Humboldt engaged in a staggering array of diverse experiences in the Andes and adjoining lowlands of northwestern South America between 1801 and 1803. Yet examination of Humboldt's diaries, letters, and published works shows how his principal activities in the Andes centered on three interests: mining and geological landscapes; communications and cartography; and use and distribution of the quinine‐yielding cinchona trees. Each node represented a pragmatic concern dealing with environmental resources in the context of the Andes. To pursue these interests in his Andean field studies, Humboldt relied on varied cultural interactions and vast social networks for knowledge exchange, in addition to extensive textual comparisons. These modes of inquiry dovetailed with his pragmatic interests and his open‐ended intellectual curiosity. Fertile combinations in his Andean studies provided the foundation and main testing ground for Humboldt's fused nature‐culture approach as well as his contributions to early geography and interdisciplinary environmental science.Andescartographyeconomic botanyAlexander von Humboldtmining

Archaeology · Context (archaeology · Curiosity · Field (mathematics · Field trip · Geography · Political science · Sociology · Alexander von Humboldt Studies · Anthropology · Ecology · Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Law · Psychology