Studying hallucinogenic plants in cultural anthropology

Abstract

This piece is a foreword to the translation of two chapters from Marlene Dobkin de Rios book “Psychedelic Journey of Marlene Dobkin de Rios: 45 Years with Shamans, Ayahuasqueros, and Ethnobotanists” (2009). Both foreword and translation were carried out by M.O. Orlova, a graduate student at N.N. Miklukho-Maklay Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology RAS, who talks about the life and research of M. Dobkin de Rios, underlying the value of hallucinogens studies for the development of modern psychology and medicine.