Publications by Thomas Zumbroich
Anthropologica 57(2), Feb 2016
Teeth blackening is a form of body modification that was prevalent across parts of Melanesia and ... more Teeth blackening is a form of body modification that was prevalent across parts of Melanesia and Micronesia. The near-permanent colouring of teeth was accomplished by applying plant-based substances combined with a unique kind of ingredient, namely, different soils (asphaltic, peat swamp, volcanic or manganese-containing). Teeth that had been culturally manipulated in a more or less ritualized fashion carried a wide range of associations, embodying local aesthetic criteria and mediating physical and, in particular, sexual maturity and attraction, as well as accomplishing social enhancements that came with maturation. Betel chewing was practised in a very similar region and, though it was distinct, intersected closely with teeth blackening. Subsequent to western contact, missionary efforts succeeded in repressing teeth blackening effectively, and it disappeared rapidly across the whole area where it was once practised.
eJournal of Indian Medicine 8(1): 1-32, Mar 31, 2015
This study presents the first systematic investigation of teeth and gum blackening as a form of b... more This study presents the first systematic investigation of teeth and gum blackening as a form of body ornamentation in South Asia. While classical Sanskrit literature had affirmed the aesthetic appeal of jasmine white teeth, from around the middle of the sixteenth century blackened teeth, and sometimes gums, were noted as essential female adornments in some urban and courtly contexts. The agent of choice for teeth blackening became known as missī, a powdery mixture of (1) iron and copper sulphate, (2) a plant source of tannins, such as myrobalans, and (3) flavouring agents. The use of missī, thought to be sanctified by Fāṭimah, the Prophet’s daughter, became deeply engrained in Islamic culture across much of the subcontinent. Teeth blackening as a life cycle event related to sexual maturity and in its literary portrayals acquired distinct sexual overtones. It was integrated into to the culture of courtesans and prostitutes where missī became synonymous with the ritual of selling a woman’s virginity. Although not a primary motivation, medicinal considerations also played a role in the use of missī. Early references to blackening the gums and edges of the teeth suggest a connection to an older tradition of filing the interstices between teeth which had become prohibited by Islamic law. Geographically and culturally distinct traditions of teeth blackening also prevailed among diverse indigenous groups living along the slopes of the Eastern Himalayas, from Nepal through Meghalaya and Assam to Nagaland. Here teeth were blackened by applying the wood tar of specific plants or chewing specific plant products. These practices related technologically and culturally to the wide-spread teeth blackening traditions of island and mainland South-east Asia and beyond.
Ethnobotany Research & Applications 11:341-363, 2013
"This study explores the complex symbolism which the genus
Plumeria L. engendered from around th... more "This study explores the complex symbolism which the genus
Plumeria L. engendered from around the beginning of the common era to the present time in Mesoamerica. In much of this cultural area an intense interest in sensory pleasures can be traced to great antiquity, and, consequently, flowers became a central metaphor in the Mesoamerican cosmological discourse. In the Maya pantheon, plumeria was associated with deities representing life force and fertility and therefore plumeria flowers became strongly connected with a wide range of expressions of female sexuality. Among Nahuatl speaking people of central Mexico, especially during the height of the Aztec empire, the most prominent association of plumeria was to signify élite status, with plumeria trees planted in the gardens of the nobility, the blooms exchanged at feasts, or the stylized image of plumeria flowers inscribed on ceramics and codices. This high appreciation for plumerias was also reflected in the number of different varieties that were distinguished by name. Ethnomedical applications, especially of the lactiferous sap of plumeria, show continuity from pre-conquest times to the present. In the context of the hybridized religious systems that developed in response to the introduction of Christianity across Mesoamerica, plumerias developed new meanings, e.g., as elaborate decorations for the worship of the Virgin Mary. When in the sixteenth century plumeria was dispersed beyond the Americas into Southeast Asia, likely through Spanish hands and by way of the Philippines, it gained a widespread association with grave yards as a plant promoting contact with the deceased."
Anthropos 108(1): 53–75, 2013
For all the attention paid to corporeality as a central idiom in Amazonia, the bodily practice of... more For all the attention paid to corporeality as a central idiom in Amazonia, the bodily practice of teeth blackening has remained poorly explored. In this article we document that in a defined region of Western Amazonia indigenous groups used to engage in the deliberate staining of their teeth by means of chewing the leaves, shoots, or fruit of over forty different plant species. Teeth blackening and the closely associated staining of the mouth and lips took on a multiplicity of roles, beyond their aesthetic appeal in the context of applying “design” to the human body and in addition to any potential medicinal benefits. Based on the analysis of myths and ethnographic data, we argue that the
meaning of teeth blackening frequently derived from teeth as a
focal site of physical as well as social development in the predacious, consuming, and sexually reproductive Amazonian body.
eJournal of Indian Medicine 5: 37–97, 2012
Ethnobotany Research & Applications 10:523-540, 2012
"Although Madagascar is geographically disjunct from Southeast Asia, Micronesia and Melanesia, wh... more "Although Madagascar is geographically disjunct from Southeast Asia, Micronesia and Melanesia, where intentional blackening of teeth used to be ubiquitous, this study found the practice deeply rooted in Malagasy culture. Men and women accomplished teeth blackening not only by chewing various, mostly endemic, plants, but also by applying organic burn products as well as a combination of mineral rich soil and barks containing tannins. The highly developed oral literature of Madagascar, in which teeth
blackening features frequently, provides material to study the diverse associations which the practice and the requisite plants evoked. These connotations reached from the overtly sexual to affirmations of various core cultural values. For example, when teeth blackener was removed again from frontal teeth to render them white, while keeping molars blackened, this pattern not only held esthetic appeal, but also somatically expressed a desire for concealment versus revelation of the private self. The widespread distribution of teeth blackening across the island and similarities to methods known from Austronesian speakers elsewhere are some of the indications that teeth blackening might have reached Madagascar during its early phases of settlement by Austronesian speakers from the Indo-Malay archipelago. Surprisingly, betel chewing, a practice equally associated with Southeast Asian people, appears to have reached Madagascar at a relatively late date by way of the Swahili coast. Neither areca nut (Areca catechu L.) nor betel pepper (Piper betle L.) become naturalized across the island, nor did the usage of these plants penetrate Malagasy culture to any great extent."
Ethnobotany Research & Applications 9:97– 113., 2011
"Teeth blackening with agents of plant and mineral origin
used to be the most wide-spread form o... more "Teeth blackening with agents of plant and mineral origin
used to be the most wide-spread form of bodily inscription
in parts of Asia, Micronesia and Melanesia, and I argue
here that it can be productively studied as a medical practice.
Ethnographic evidence supports that teeth blackeners
became integrated into indigenous systems of medicine
in which they fulfilled different purposes. They aided
the recovery from the physically challenging teeth filing
procedure, provided a primary form of preventive oral
care and treated acute oral afflictions. Frequently used
teeth blackening agents were derived from plants (e.g.,
Paederia foetida L. or Punica granatum L.) which were
traditionally considered of high medical value and, from
a biomedical perspective, had a high content of bioactive
constituents. Biomedical data also validate the usefulness
of many blackening plant extracts for improving oral
health and suggest efficacy against other diseases prevalent
in tropical climates, e.g., diarrheal or intestinal parasitic
diseases. An assessment of the risk-benefit balance
of teeth blackening suggests that, despite concomitant
carcinogenic and other toxic risks, especially from chronic
application, the practice could have made a positive contribution
to health status in many societies before Western
contact. The unique dynamic of medical utility embedded
in diverse symbolic ascriptions might have provided the
basis for its adoption in so many cultures of Asia, Micronesia
and Melanesia."
The Cordillera Review 2(2):3-42, 2010
"Different forms of dental modifications used to be a widespread
cultural expression across much... more "Different forms of dental modifications used to be a widespread
cultural expression across much of Luzon (Philippines). Gold
decorations on teeth appear in the archaeological record around
the fourteenth century CE, and later Spanish documents confirm
gold pegging, but also teeth filing as well as the deliberate
blackening of dentitions among Tagalog and Bikol speakers. While
in the immediate sphere of Spanish influence such practices were
rapidly abandoned, they persisted far longer among indigenous
groups in more remote locales, especially the Cordillera. The
motivations behind dental modifications were complex and
included concepts of beautification, achieving personhood and
affirming group identity. By the beginning of the twenty-first
century the practices had generally fallen into disuse, though to
this date an appreciation of and familiarity with the techniques
of teeth blackening is being preserved among an ever shrinking
number of elders of certain indigenous groups, such as the
Gaddang."
Ethnobotany Research and Applications 7:381-398., 2009
This study presents a comparative perspective on the
ethnobotanical resources utilized in teeth ... more This study presents a comparative perspective on the
ethnobotanical resources utilized in teeth blackening,
which was formerly an important life cycle event across
Southeast Asia. Based on records from the seventeenth
century to the present, we identified over 60 plant species
hat were used for this practice in three distinct categories:
as masticants, burn products and compound dyes.
Different ethnolinguistic groups typically chose not more
than a few locally available plant species as teeth blackeners.
The mastication of the vine Epipremnum pinnatum
(L.) Engl. or the fruit and root of Paederia foetida L. as
well as the application of dry distilled oil of coconut shells
were among the methods most widely applied by speakers
belonging to different linguistic families. The occasional
involvement of non-native plant species, such as Nicotiana
tabacum L. or Psidium guajava L., demonstrates how
the practice adapted over time. Betel chewing, though
frequently confused with teeth blackening, was a distinct
custom, but both intersected in their geographic scopes,
use patterns and cultural ascriptions. Assessment of the
medicinal qualities of some of the teeth blackeners suggests
that the practice might also have had an ethnopharmacological
dimension.
Studia Asiatica 10:125-165., 2009
eJournal of Indian Medicine 1(3): 63-116, 2008
The preparation of a betel quid generally involves the combination of slaked lime with two plant ... more The preparation of a betel quid generally involves the combination of slaked lime with two plant products: the seed of Areca catechu L. (‘areca nut’) and the leaf of Piper betle L. (‘betel leaf’). This paper aims to provide a comprehensive perspective on how the habit of betel chewing originated and was diffused across Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Pacific Islands before the common era. The limited biogeographical data available on the two plant species are consistent with a restricted natural distribution which was followed by a wide dispersal by human agency. A critical review of past archaeobotanical reports from South India to Papua New Guinea challenges some of the earliest dates claimed for betel chewing. By synthesizing evidence from the disciplines of archaeology, historical linguistics and textual analysis on the plants and the material culture of betel chewing, a picture emerges that is far more complex than had previously been suggested. Currently no single model of dispersal, such as the migration of Austronesian speakers, fully explains the transmission of A. catechu L. and P. betle L. across Asia. However, a number of biological and cultural factors can be identified that have facilitated the dynamic expansion of betel chewing across a wide geographic area up to the present.
Acta Botanica Venezuelana 28(1):155-160, 2005
This paper documents that the first specimens of the economically important nutmeg tree did not r... more This paper documents that the first specimens of the economically important nutmeg tree did not reach the New World until 1773, while the equally valuable cinnamon tree had been transferred to a Caribbean island by 1762. These dates can serve to interpret a recently discovered manuscript by the French botanist Jean Baptiste D’Arnault in which he claimed to have collected nutmeg and cinnamon in the Lesser Antilles or
Venezuela in 1767 (Lindorf 2001, 2002).
Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 56(1): 1-28, 2004
The history of the spice plantation and Botanic Garden conceived by Sir Stamford Raffles (1781-18... more The history of the spice plantation and Botanic Garden conceived by Sir Stamford Raffles (1781-1826) for Government Hill (now Fort Canning Hill) in Singapore is documented from its inception in 1819, using archival sources, contemporary accounts as well as previously published and unpublished maps. After Raffles’ departure from Singapore in 1823 and under pressure for retrenchment the patronage of economic botany shifted from the government to entrepeneurs who revived Raffles’ original nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) plantation in the 1830's, subsequently leading to frenzied nutmeg cultivation around the settlement. A combination of competitive pressure, inadequate husbandry and an insect pest brought nutmeg cultivation on Government Hill and elsewhere in Singapore to an end in 1859. Not only was the spice plantation envisioned by Raffles in existence longer and at times more extensive than previously thought, it also exerted a significant impact on land development in and around the settlement. A map of Government Hill and the surrounding area is shown to illustrate the extent of the Botanic Garden as originally planned, its approximate location in 1827 and the gradual encroachment of other buildings and facilities over time.
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Publications by Thomas Zumbroich
Plumeria L. engendered from around the beginning of the common era to the present time in Mesoamerica. In much of this cultural area an intense interest in sensory pleasures can be traced to great antiquity, and, consequently, flowers became a central metaphor in the Mesoamerican cosmological discourse. In the Maya pantheon, plumeria was associated with deities representing life force and fertility and therefore plumeria flowers became strongly connected with a wide range of expressions of female sexuality. Among Nahuatl speaking people of central Mexico, especially during the height of the Aztec empire, the most prominent association of plumeria was to signify élite status, with plumeria trees planted in the gardens of the nobility, the blooms exchanged at feasts, or the stylized image of plumeria flowers inscribed on ceramics and codices. This high appreciation for plumerias was also reflected in the number of different varieties that were distinguished by name. Ethnomedical applications, especially of the lactiferous sap of plumeria, show continuity from pre-conquest times to the present. In the context of the hybridized religious systems that developed in response to the introduction of Christianity across Mesoamerica, plumerias developed new meanings, e.g., as elaborate decorations for the worship of the Virgin Mary. When in the sixteenth century plumeria was dispersed beyond the Americas into Southeast Asia, likely through Spanish hands and by way of the Philippines, it gained a widespread association with grave yards as a plant promoting contact with the deceased."
meaning of teeth blackening frequently derived from teeth as a
focal site of physical as well as social development in the predacious, consuming, and sexually reproductive Amazonian body.
blackening features frequently, provides material to study the diverse associations which the practice and the requisite plants evoked. These connotations reached from the overtly sexual to affirmations of various core cultural values. For example, when teeth blackener was removed again from frontal teeth to render them white, while keeping molars blackened, this pattern not only held esthetic appeal, but also somatically expressed a desire for concealment versus revelation of the private self. The widespread distribution of teeth blackening across the island and similarities to methods known from Austronesian speakers elsewhere are some of the indications that teeth blackening might have reached Madagascar during its early phases of settlement by Austronesian speakers from the Indo-Malay archipelago. Surprisingly, betel chewing, a practice equally associated with Southeast Asian people, appears to have reached Madagascar at a relatively late date by way of the Swahili coast. Neither areca nut (Areca catechu L.) nor betel pepper (Piper betle L.) become naturalized across the island, nor did the usage of these plants penetrate Malagasy culture to any great extent."
used to be the most wide-spread form of bodily inscription
in parts of Asia, Micronesia and Melanesia, and I argue
here that it can be productively studied as a medical practice.
Ethnographic evidence supports that teeth blackeners
became integrated into indigenous systems of medicine
in which they fulfilled different purposes. They aided
the recovery from the physically challenging teeth filing
procedure, provided a primary form of preventive oral
care and treated acute oral afflictions. Frequently used
teeth blackening agents were derived from plants (e.g.,
Paederia foetida L. or Punica granatum L.) which were
traditionally considered of high medical value and, from
a biomedical perspective, had a high content of bioactive
constituents. Biomedical data also validate the usefulness
of many blackening plant extracts for improving oral
health and suggest efficacy against other diseases prevalent
in tropical climates, e.g., diarrheal or intestinal parasitic
diseases. An assessment of the risk-benefit balance
of teeth blackening suggests that, despite concomitant
carcinogenic and other toxic risks, especially from chronic
application, the practice could have made a positive contribution
to health status in many societies before Western
contact. The unique dynamic of medical utility embedded
in diverse symbolic ascriptions might have provided the
basis for its adoption in so many cultures of Asia, Micronesia
and Melanesia."
cultural expression across much of Luzon (Philippines). Gold
decorations on teeth appear in the archaeological record around
the fourteenth century CE, and later Spanish documents confirm
gold pegging, but also teeth filing as well as the deliberate
blackening of dentitions among Tagalog and Bikol speakers. While
in the immediate sphere of Spanish influence such practices were
rapidly abandoned, they persisted far longer among indigenous
groups in more remote locales, especially the Cordillera. The
motivations behind dental modifications were complex and
included concepts of beautification, achieving personhood and
affirming group identity. By the beginning of the twenty-first
century the practices had generally fallen into disuse, though to
this date an appreciation of and familiarity with the techniques
of teeth blackening is being preserved among an ever shrinking
number of elders of certain indigenous groups, such as the
Gaddang."
ethnobotanical resources utilized in teeth blackening,
which was formerly an important life cycle event across
Southeast Asia. Based on records from the seventeenth
century to the present, we identified over 60 plant species
hat were used for this practice in three distinct categories:
as masticants, burn products and compound dyes.
Different ethnolinguistic groups typically chose not more
than a few locally available plant species as teeth blackeners.
The mastication of the vine Epipremnum pinnatum
(L.) Engl. or the fruit and root of Paederia foetida L. as
well as the application of dry distilled oil of coconut shells
were among the methods most widely applied by speakers
belonging to different linguistic families. The occasional
involvement of non-native plant species, such as Nicotiana
tabacum L. or Psidium guajava L., demonstrates how
the practice adapted over time. Betel chewing, though
frequently confused with teeth blackening, was a distinct
custom, but both intersected in their geographic scopes,
use patterns and cultural ascriptions. Assessment of the
medicinal qualities of some of the teeth blackeners suggests
that the practice might also have had an ethnopharmacological
dimension.
Venezuela in 1767 (Lindorf 2001, 2002).
Plumeria L. engendered from around the beginning of the common era to the present time in Mesoamerica. In much of this cultural area an intense interest in sensory pleasures can be traced to great antiquity, and, consequently, flowers became a central metaphor in the Mesoamerican cosmological discourse. In the Maya pantheon, plumeria was associated with deities representing life force and fertility and therefore plumeria flowers became strongly connected with a wide range of expressions of female sexuality. Among Nahuatl speaking people of central Mexico, especially during the height of the Aztec empire, the most prominent association of plumeria was to signify élite status, with plumeria trees planted in the gardens of the nobility, the blooms exchanged at feasts, or the stylized image of plumeria flowers inscribed on ceramics and codices. This high appreciation for plumerias was also reflected in the number of different varieties that were distinguished by name. Ethnomedical applications, especially of the lactiferous sap of plumeria, show continuity from pre-conquest times to the present. In the context of the hybridized religious systems that developed in response to the introduction of Christianity across Mesoamerica, plumerias developed new meanings, e.g., as elaborate decorations for the worship of the Virgin Mary. When in the sixteenth century plumeria was dispersed beyond the Americas into Southeast Asia, likely through Spanish hands and by way of the Philippines, it gained a widespread association with grave yards as a plant promoting contact with the deceased."
meaning of teeth blackening frequently derived from teeth as a
focal site of physical as well as social development in the predacious, consuming, and sexually reproductive Amazonian body.
blackening features frequently, provides material to study the diverse associations which the practice and the requisite plants evoked. These connotations reached from the overtly sexual to affirmations of various core cultural values. For example, when teeth blackener was removed again from frontal teeth to render them white, while keeping molars blackened, this pattern not only held esthetic appeal, but also somatically expressed a desire for concealment versus revelation of the private self. The widespread distribution of teeth blackening across the island and similarities to methods known from Austronesian speakers elsewhere are some of the indications that teeth blackening might have reached Madagascar during its early phases of settlement by Austronesian speakers from the Indo-Malay archipelago. Surprisingly, betel chewing, a practice equally associated with Southeast Asian people, appears to have reached Madagascar at a relatively late date by way of the Swahili coast. Neither areca nut (Areca catechu L.) nor betel pepper (Piper betle L.) become naturalized across the island, nor did the usage of these plants penetrate Malagasy culture to any great extent."
used to be the most wide-spread form of bodily inscription
in parts of Asia, Micronesia and Melanesia, and I argue
here that it can be productively studied as a medical practice.
Ethnographic evidence supports that teeth blackeners
became integrated into indigenous systems of medicine
in which they fulfilled different purposes. They aided
the recovery from the physically challenging teeth filing
procedure, provided a primary form of preventive oral
care and treated acute oral afflictions. Frequently used
teeth blackening agents were derived from plants (e.g.,
Paederia foetida L. or Punica granatum L.) which were
traditionally considered of high medical value and, from
a biomedical perspective, had a high content of bioactive
constituents. Biomedical data also validate the usefulness
of many blackening plant extracts for improving oral
health and suggest efficacy against other diseases prevalent
in tropical climates, e.g., diarrheal or intestinal parasitic
diseases. An assessment of the risk-benefit balance
of teeth blackening suggests that, despite concomitant
carcinogenic and other toxic risks, especially from chronic
application, the practice could have made a positive contribution
to health status in many societies before Western
contact. The unique dynamic of medical utility embedded
in diverse symbolic ascriptions might have provided the
basis for its adoption in so many cultures of Asia, Micronesia
and Melanesia."
cultural expression across much of Luzon (Philippines). Gold
decorations on teeth appear in the archaeological record around
the fourteenth century CE, and later Spanish documents confirm
gold pegging, but also teeth filing as well as the deliberate
blackening of dentitions among Tagalog and Bikol speakers. While
in the immediate sphere of Spanish influence such practices were
rapidly abandoned, they persisted far longer among indigenous
groups in more remote locales, especially the Cordillera. The
motivations behind dental modifications were complex and
included concepts of beautification, achieving personhood and
affirming group identity. By the beginning of the twenty-first
century the practices had generally fallen into disuse, though to
this date an appreciation of and familiarity with the techniques
of teeth blackening is being preserved among an ever shrinking
number of elders of certain indigenous groups, such as the
Gaddang."
ethnobotanical resources utilized in teeth blackening,
which was formerly an important life cycle event across
Southeast Asia. Based on records from the seventeenth
century to the present, we identified over 60 plant species
hat were used for this practice in three distinct categories:
as masticants, burn products and compound dyes.
Different ethnolinguistic groups typically chose not more
than a few locally available plant species as teeth blackeners.
The mastication of the vine Epipremnum pinnatum
(L.) Engl. or the fruit and root of Paederia foetida L. as
well as the application of dry distilled oil of coconut shells
were among the methods most widely applied by speakers
belonging to different linguistic families. The occasional
involvement of non-native plant species, such as Nicotiana
tabacum L. or Psidium guajava L., demonstrates how
the practice adapted over time. Betel chewing, though
frequently confused with teeth blackening, was a distinct
custom, but both intersected in their geographic scopes,
use patterns and cultural ascriptions. Assessment of the
medicinal qualities of some of the teeth blackeners suggests
that the practice might also have had an ethnopharmacological
dimension.
Venezuela in 1767 (Lindorf 2001, 2002).