Current Position
Vice President of Scientific Affairs and Senior Scientist
Ph.D., Biology, University of Alabama, 1984


Other Affiliations
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, 2003-present.
DIRECTOR, Graduate Studies Program and ADJUNCT CURATOR, Institute of Economic Botany, New York Botanical Garden, 1993-2002.
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, Columbia University, 1996-2002.
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, 2001-2002.
VISITING RESEARCH PROFESSOR, Department of Biology, New York University, 1996-2002.
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, Plant Sciences Program, Lehman College, City University of New York, 1994-2002.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR ADJUNCT, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 1996-2002.
DIRECTOR, Electron Microscopy Facility and ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR in Biomaterials, University of Mississippi, Jackson


Research Interests
My primary research interests are in paleoethnobotany and ethnomedical botany. I have conducted field research in many areas of Central America, studying indigenous groups of Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador, as well as in North America. To develop a greater understanding of how early cultures manipulated their environment through their agricultural and other land-use practices, I have examined the way in which indigenous people, including the Jicaque, Paya and the Kekchi-Maya, use plants. Much of my work has focused on the archaeobotany of the ancient Maya, studying the differences in dietary habits among groups of varying economic status. Currently, I am investigating the origins of domesticated sunflower and current ethnographic uses of sunflower in Mexico. I welcome students interested in pursuing compatible research projects. Support for this purpose is available through the internship program at the Garden.


Representative Publications
Lentz, D.L., L. Haddad, S. Cherpelis, H.J. Mary Joo, and M. Potter. 2002. Long-term influences of ancient Maya agroforestry practices on tropical forest biodiversity in northwestern Belize. In: Ethnobiology and Biocultural Diversity, J. R. Stepp, F. S. Wyndham, R. Zarger, eds., pp. 431-442. University of Georgia Press, Athens.

Lentz, D.L. and C.R. Ramírez-Sosa. 2002. Cerén plant resources: Abundance and diversity. In: Before the Volcano Erupted: The Cerén Village in Central America, Sheets, P.D., ed., pp. 33-42. University of Texas Press, Austin.

Lentz, D.L., M.E.D. Pohl, K.O. Pope, and A. R. Wyatt. 2001. Prehistoric sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) domestication in Mexico. Economic Botany 55(3): 370-377.

Pope, K.O., M.E.D. Pohl, J. Jones, D.L. Lentz, C. von Nagy, and I. Quitmyer. 2001. Early agriculture in the lowlands of Mesoamerica. Science 292: 1370-1373.

Lentz, D.L. 2000. Paleoethnobotanical remains from western Morelos. In: The Xochicalco Mapping Project, Hirth, K.G., ed., pp. 193-196. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.

Lentz, D.L., ed. 2000. Imperfect Balance: Landscape Transformations in the Precolumbian Americas. Columbia University Press, New York. Pp. 547.

Lentz, D. L. 2000. Symbolism and function at the Mehtab Bagh: The botanical component. In: The Moonlight Garden, New Discoveries at the Taj Mahal, Moynihan, E., ed., pp. 42-57. Sackler Gallery Occasional Papers, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.

Lentz, D.L. 1999. Paleoethnobotany of the ancient Maya. In: Reconstructing Ancient Maya Diets, White, C.D., ed., pp. 3-18. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.

Lentz, D.L., A.M. Clark, C.D. Hufford, B. Meurer-Grimes, C.L. Passreiter, A.L. Okunade, J. Cordero, and O. Ibrahimi. 1998. Antimicrobial properties of Honduran medicinal plants. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 63 (3): 253-263.


Contact Information
David Lentz
Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe, Illinois 60022
Phone: (847) 835-6956
Fax: (847) 835-4484
E-mail: dlentz@chicagobotanic.org



Scientific Programs Home Page
Ornamental Plant Development
Conservation Science
Economic Botany
Environmental Science
Aquatics