The Civilization of the South American Indians

Ten years of fieldwork on ayahuasca use, from Amazonian curanderos to urban churches and addiction treatment centres. Combines medical anthropology with cognitive science and is honest about the tensions between them.

Ismael Eduardo Apud Pelaez

Notes from months spent among the peoples of the Putumayo region, covering the medicine man, dance ceremonies, plant knowledge and daily life. Illustrated with early photographs of the communities described.

Thomas Whiffen

A naturalist account of the peoples of the Guiana interior, with a long section on the peaiman, the spirit world and the practice of healing. Careful observation of plants, tools and belief side by side.

Everard F. im Thurn

A study of the nagual, the guardian spirit and animal double of Mesoamerican belief, tracing the master magicians of the Aztec, Mixtec and Maya worlds and the sacred plants they used.

Daniel G. Brinton