ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2738-1632
Date of Award
12-19-2023
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Type
Dissertation
Abstract
Plants and their fibers have served as simple yet incredibly versatile raw materials for innovation for as long as humans have been on the planet. As the principal structural building blocks of plant cell walls, these hollow, cellulosic fibers have been co-opted by cultures around the world to meet diverse structural, absorptive, motile, and thermoregulatory needs—especially as textiles and paper. Despite (or because of!) this versatility, fibers vary considerably in physiology, and ethnographic records show that very few plant species have been chosen by tradition for use in fiber products. Surprisingly, no fiber ethnobotany study to date has attempted to explain or quantify this choosiness. Now, with globalization replacing manual, artisanal fiber traditions with industrial, machine-made fiber products, evidence to support rationales of plant choice in ethnobotany is rapidly disappearing. This three-part thesis aims to counteract this erasure. Chapter 1 is a dual review and meta-analysis which demonstrates that plants used by tradition for barkcloth and paper have each been chosen due to their unique suite of fiber physiologies. Chapter 2 leverages ecological niche models to inform how papermaking traditions in Nepal can adapt to climate change. The final chapter is a monograph of still-extant Vietnamese papermaking traditions, which revises and greatly expands upon the ethnographic work of Dard Hunter in Tonkin—now nine decades outdated. Together, this collaborative work can guide continued conservation and innovation in the ways plants have been—and still are—used around the world.
Language
English (en)
Chair and Committee
Robbie Hart
Recommended Citation
Ojascastro, James, "Following the Paper Trail: An Ethnoecology of Hand Papermaking Traditions" (2023). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3207.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/3207