“None of Them Could Say They Ever Had Seen Them, but Only Had It from Others”: Encounters with Animals in Eighteenth-Century Natural Histories of Greenland
The pages of early modern natural histories expose the plasticity of the natural world, and the variegated nature of the encounter between human and animal in this period. Descriptions of the flora and fauna reflect this kind of negotiated encounter between the world that is seen, that which is hear...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10112024 https://doaj.org/article/fc072b2f8fa24ee0a9d139d844846539 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:fc072b2f8fa24ee0a9d139d844846539 2023-05-15T16:28:06+02:00 “None of Them Could Say They Ever Had Seen Them, but Only Had It from Others”: Encounters with Animals in Eighteenth-Century Natural Histories of Greenland Helen Parish 2020-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10112024 https://doaj.org/article/fc072b2f8fa24ee0a9d139d844846539 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/11/2024 https://doaj.org/toc/2076-2615 doi:10.3390/ani10112024 2076-2615 https://doaj.org/article/fc072b2f8fa24ee0a9d139d844846539 Animals, Vol 10, Iss 2024, p 2024 (2020) animals natural history missionaries observation encounter ethnography Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10112024 2023-01-08T01:32:09Z The pages of early modern natural histories expose the plasticity of the natural world, and the variegated nature of the encounter between human and animal in this period. Descriptions of the flora and fauna reflect this kind of negotiated encounter between the world that is seen, that which is heard about, and that which is constructed from the language of the sacred text of scripture. The natural histories of Greenland that form the basis of this analysis exemplify the complexity of human–animal encounters in this period, and the intersections that existed between natural and unnatural, written authority and personal testimony, and culture, belief, and ethnography in natural histories. They invite a more nuanced understanding of the ways in which animals and people interact in the making of culture, and demonstrate the contribution made by such texts to the study of animal encounters, cultures, and concepts. This article explores the intersection between natural history and the work of Christian mission in the eighteenth century, and the connections between personal encounter, ethnography, history, and oral and written tradition. The analysis demonstrates that European natural histories continued to be anthropocentric in content and tone, the product of what was believed, as much as what was seen. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland Animals 10 11 2024 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
animals natural history missionaries observation encounter ethnography Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 |
spellingShingle |
animals natural history missionaries observation encounter ethnography Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 Helen Parish “None of Them Could Say They Ever Had Seen Them, but Only Had It from Others”: Encounters with Animals in Eighteenth-Century Natural Histories of Greenland |
topic_facet |
animals natural history missionaries observation encounter ethnography Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 |
description |
The pages of early modern natural histories expose the plasticity of the natural world, and the variegated nature of the encounter between human and animal in this period. Descriptions of the flora and fauna reflect this kind of negotiated encounter between the world that is seen, that which is heard about, and that which is constructed from the language of the sacred text of scripture. The natural histories of Greenland that form the basis of this analysis exemplify the complexity of human–animal encounters in this period, and the intersections that existed between natural and unnatural, written authority and personal testimony, and culture, belief, and ethnography in natural histories. They invite a more nuanced understanding of the ways in which animals and people interact in the making of culture, and demonstrate the contribution made by such texts to the study of animal encounters, cultures, and concepts. This article explores the intersection between natural history and the work of Christian mission in the eighteenth century, and the connections between personal encounter, ethnography, history, and oral and written tradition. The analysis demonstrates that European natural histories continued to be anthropocentric in content and tone, the product of what was believed, as much as what was seen. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Helen Parish |
author_facet |
Helen Parish |
author_sort |
Helen Parish |
title |
“None of Them Could Say They Ever Had Seen Them, but Only Had It from Others”: Encounters with Animals in Eighteenth-Century Natural Histories of Greenland |
title_short |
“None of Them Could Say They Ever Had Seen Them, but Only Had It from Others”: Encounters with Animals in Eighteenth-Century Natural Histories of Greenland |
title_full |
“None of Them Could Say They Ever Had Seen Them, but Only Had It from Others”: Encounters with Animals in Eighteenth-Century Natural Histories of Greenland |
title_fullStr |
“None of Them Could Say They Ever Had Seen Them, but Only Had It from Others”: Encounters with Animals in Eighteenth-Century Natural Histories of Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
“None of Them Could Say They Ever Had Seen Them, but Only Had It from Others”: Encounters with Animals in Eighteenth-Century Natural Histories of Greenland |
title_sort |
“none of them could say they ever had seen them, but only had it from others”: encounters with animals in eighteenth-century natural histories of greenland |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10112024 https://doaj.org/article/fc072b2f8fa24ee0a9d139d844846539 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland |
genre_facet |
Greenland |
op_source |
Animals, Vol 10, Iss 2024, p 2024 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/11/2024 https://doaj.org/toc/2076-2615 doi:10.3390/ani10112024 2076-2615 https://doaj.org/article/fc072b2f8fa24ee0a9d139d844846539 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10112024 |
container_title |
Animals |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
2024 |
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1766017736293482496 |