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Human Life History is Shaping Embodied Medicinal Plant Knowledge Across the Lifespan
Jorge Izaquiel Alves de Siqueira1, Patrícia Muniz de Medeiros2, Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque3
1Laboratório de Ecologia e Evolução de Sistemas Socioecológicos (LEA), Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
Human Nature (Hawthorne, N.Y.)
|July 8, 2026
Summary
Human life history shapes medicinal plant knowledge and local medical systems (LMSs) across the lifespan. Specific plants and knowledge are linked to reproductive phases and gender, particularly for women.
Area of Science:
- Ethnobotany
- Human Ecology
- Life History Theory
Background:
- Local medical systems (LMSs) are influenced by human life history and embodied capital.
- Medicinal plants play a crucial role in enhancing individual fitness and health.
- Understanding LMS construction requires examining lifespan and gender dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the role of human life history in shaping LMSs across the lifespan.
- To investigate medicinal plant composition, knowledge, and therapeutic targets.
- To explore gender-specific differences in medicinal plant knowledge modulated by life history.
Main Methods:
- Ethnobiological investigation in a rural Brazilian community.
- Analysis of medicinal plant composition and therapeutic targets across lifespan stages.
- Examination of embodied medicinal plant knowledge (EMPK) and gender-based associations.
Main Results:
- Human life history significantly shapes medicinal plant knowledge throughout the lifespan.
- Specific medicinal plants and targets are associated with reproductive and post-reproductive phases.
- Gender differences in EMPK are observed primarily during the reproductive phase, with women showing distinct plant associations.
Conclusions:
- Human life history structures life-phase-specific patterns of medicinal plant knowledge.
- LMS construction is deeply intertwined with human developmental stages and gender.
- This study offers novel perspectives on the differentiated contributions of men and women to LMSs across the life course.
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