title: The first report on the medicinal use of fossils in latin america.
abstract: There have been very few ethnopharmacological studies performed on the traditional use of fossil species, although a few records have been conducted in Asia, Africa, and Europe. This study is the first ever to be performed on the use of Testudine (turtle) fossils for folk medicine in Latin America. An investigation was conducted in the Araripe Basin, which is one of the most important fossil-bearing reserves in the world due to the diversity, endemism, and quality of preservation of its fossils. We propose the formalization of a new discipline called ethnopaleontology, which will involve the study of the dynamic relationship between humans and fossils, from human perception to direct use.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Herpetology and Paleoherpetology Studies, Biology Department, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, 52171-900 Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Geraldo Jorge Barbosa
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Moura
authors.forename: Ulysses Paulino
authors.initials: UP
authors.lastname: Albuquerque