ABSTRACT
Tobacco consumption around the world has increased exponentially since European explorers first observed its use and transported seeds of plant from indigenous communities in the Americas in the sixteenth century. The role of tobacco among indigenous populations in lowland South America provides some fascinating comparisons and contrasts with its status in other parts of the world. Wilbert emphasizes the tremendous diversity of methods for tobacco use in South America. This diversity (along with linguistic evidence) suggests a long history of regional engagement with tobacco and its by-products. The definitive quality of Wilbert’s work may have contributed to a sense that tobacco in South America had been dealt with and that there remained nothing more to be said about it. Subsequent work on tobacco in lowland South America has tended to focus more on the relationship of tobacco to what McCallum calls ‘ethno-epistemologies’ (indigenous theories of knowledge). The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
