Bezoar stones between two worlds: From talisman to medicine in the septentrional provinces of new spain, 16th-18th centuries

Abstract

Objective/context: This article analyzes the use of American bezoar stone as a polysemic object. While for Amerindians it worked as a talisman for hunting, European Jesuits, doctors and merchants attributed it medicinal properties. The Jesuits who collected the medical practices of the northern provinces of New Spain responded to the need to take care of the health of missionaries in remote lands. An example of this was the Florilegio Medicinal by Father Juan de Esteyneffer, product of the adaptation of the local flora and fauna. Originality: In contrast to the historical works devoted to describing and explaining bezoar stones as medicine in Europe, this article shows objects as having a trajectory and as relating in different ways to various human groups, depending on the cultural order in which they are found. In this line of reasoning, these objects allow us to compare local practices with those of colonial agents. Methodology: This research contrasts information coming from several anthropologists’s field work, primary sources and historiographical work. In addition, it is part of a new set of proposals that seeks to attribute social life to objects and, thus, to explore their multiple circulations and meanings in intercultural spaces. Conclusions: The American bezoar stone was a complex artifact that had diverse trajectories and scopes. For the Amerindians, this hunting talisman was an agent that regulated relations with the community and nonhuman entities. In contrast, for colonial agents, its economic potential destined it to become a pharmaceutical merchandise, a substitute for the valuable oriental bezoar stone.