(Mariana - Lopera) 1. Earliest taxonomy 1.2. The Greeks and Romans

1. By :
Mariana Bedoya
Matias Lopera

2. Taxonomy is as old as the
language skill of
mankind. When we
speak about ancient
taxonomy we usually
mean the history in the
Western world.

3.  However, the earliest traces are
not from the West, but from the
East. Shen Nung, Emperor of
China around 3000 BC He was
a legendary emperor known as
the Father of Chinese medicine
and is believed to have
introduced acupuncture.

4.  Around 1500 BC medicinal
plants were illustrated on
wall paintings in Egypt. The
paintings gives us
knowledge about medicinal
plants in old Egypt and
their names.

5. In one of the oldest
and largest papyrus
rolls, Ebers Papyrus,
plants are included
as medicines for
different diseases.

6.  1.2. The Greeks and Romans
Aristotle (384–322 BC)the Greek
philosopher was the first to
classify all living things,
like the vertebrates and
invertebrates, which he called
animals with blood and without
blood (such as insects, crustacea
and testacea (molluscs).

7.  Carl Linnaeus accepted many
of his generic names.

8.  Theophrastus (370–285 BC) was
a student of Aristotle and
Platon. He wrote a classification
of all known plants, De Historia
Plantarum, which contained 480
species. His classification was
based on growth form, and we
still recognise many of his plant
genera, like Narcissus, Crocus
and Cornus.

9.  Dioscorides (40–90 AD) was a
greek physician, gathered
knowledge about medicinal
plants. Between 50-70 AD he
wrote De Materia Medica,
whichcontained around 600
species. The classification in his
work is based on the medicinal
properties of the species.

10.  Plinius (23–79 AD) He wrote
many books, but the only one
that has survived is his
Naturalis Historia, a work of
160 voumes, in which he
described several plants and
gave them Latin names.

11.  The Father of Botanical Latin.
Plinius died in Pompeii.