Dr. Richard Evans Schultes Historical Ethnographer

1. Dr. Richard Evans SchultesHistorical Ethnographer By: Nathan Beeman Biology 428 Frostburg State University

2. Background • Dr. Richard Evans Schultes Jan. 12, 1915 to April 10, 2001 • Born and died in Boston, Mass. • He was the son of German immigrants www.erowid.org

3. Background • During a lengthy childhood illness he read Notes of a Botanist on the Amazon and the Andes by Richard Spruce • This book would ultimately influence Dr. Schultes’ career in plant exploration • He graduated from East Boston High School • He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard University

4. Career • He did his undergraduate dissertation research on Peyote with the Kiowa Indians of Oklahoma • This is where he first took on the role of ethnographer • Not only did he see the how the plant was used ceremoniously but the actual role it played in the daily lives of these people

5. Career • No longer was it all about understanding the plants, but understanding the cultures in which they were used was equally as important • For his graduate thesis he continued the study of plants with psychoactive properties • Mushrooms that were used by Aztecs in Oaxaca, Mexico

6. Career • To his disdain, his publication Plants of the Gods became the handbook for the 1960’s drug counter-culture lead by figures such as Timothy Leary and William S. Burroughs • Their recreational drug use would stigmatize and cause the rest of western society to look unfavorably at the native cultures who used these sacred plants www.erowid.org

7. Career • In 1941 he began his 12 year stay in the Columbian Amazon doing research on curare, a mixture of plants used for poison arrows • While there he traveled alone most often • He learned several native tongues and dialects • He relied on the hospitality of local indians and rarely encountered any hostility

8. Career • In the advent of WWII he was given an assignment by the USDA to find seed sources for Hevea, rubber trees • This helped him establish conservation programs that are used today by large drug companies • They are able to research and extract plants for their medicinal purposes without adversely affecting the quality of life of the native peoples • One his greatest fears was that “the native people and their knowledge was disappearing faster than plants themselves”

9. Accomplishments • Director of the Botanical Museum and Professor of Biology at Harvard University • Collection of over 20,000 specimens and discovery of 120 previously unknown species • Cross of Boyaca Award; Columbia’s highest honor • The naming of the Schultes Preserve, a large tract of land in the Columbian Amazon

10. Sources • "The Vaults of Erowid." Web. 18 Feb 2010. <http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/schultes_richard/images/schultes_richard4_med.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/schultes_richard/schultes_richard.shtml&h=250&w=200&sz=19&tbnid=1_g64gvMRYCiVM:&tbnh=111&tbnw=89&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drichard%2Bevans%2Bschultes&hl=en&usg=__8Ww8hGWP4Zl3ILgaUXG1zzpxmzI=&ei=02V5S5-PMtSX8Aa-ndzzCQ&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=4&ct=image&ved=0CB0Q9QEwAw>.

11. Sources Cont. • "A Tribute to Richard Evans Schultes." Web. 18 Feb 2010. <http://www.biopark.org/peru/schultes-obit.html>. • Sequeira, Luis. "Richard Evans Schultes 1915-2001." biographical Memoir 2006: n. pag. Web. 18 Feb 2010. <http://www.nap.edu/html/biomems/rschultes.pdf>.