Wade Davis (anthropologist): Difference between revisions

Davis’s research has inspired numerous documentary films as well as three episodes of the television series The X-Files.^[3] He has been lecturing since the 1990s at various institutions.

In late 2013, it was announced that Davis would join the University of British Columbia as a professor of anthropology in the summer of 2014.^[2]

Filmmaking and other media involvement

Davis was the series creator, host and co-writer of Light at the Edge of the World, a four-hour ethnographic documentary series, shot in

He is featured in the

Advisory work

An Honorary Research Associate of the Institute of Economic Botany of the New York Botanical Garden, he is a Fellow of the

He is a member of the International Advisory Board, Hunt Consolidated, PLNG, and has also been engaged in Journey to Zero, a three-year campaign sponsored by

In 1983, Davis first advanced his hypothesis that tetrodotoxin (TTX) poisoning could explain the existence of Haitian zombies.^[7] This idea has been controversial and his 1985 follow up book (The Serpent and the Rainbow) elaborating upon this claim has been criticized for a number of scientific inaccuracies.^[8] One of these is the suggestion that Haitian witchdoctors can keep “zombies” in a state of pharmacologically induced trance for many years.^[9] As part of his Haitian investigations, Davis commissioned the exhumation of a recently buried child.^[10][11] (Dead human tissue is supposed to be a part of the “zombie powder” used by witchdoctors to produce zombies.) This has been criticized in the professional literature as a breach of ethics.^[9][12]

The strictly scientific criticism of Davis’s zombie project has focused on the claims about the chemical composition of the “zombie powder”. Several samples of the powder were analyzed for TTX levels by experts in 1986. They reported^[13] that only “insignificant traces of tetrodotoxin [were found] in the samples of ‘zombie powder’ which were supplied for analysis by Davis” and that “it can be concluded that the widely circulated claim in the lay press to the effect that tetrodotoxin is the causal agent in the initial zombification process is without factual foundation”. Davis’s claims were subsequently defended by other scientists doing further analyses^[14] and these findings were criticized in turn for poor methodology and technique by the original skeptics.^[15] Aside from the question of whether or not “zombie powder” contains significant amounts of TTX, the underlying concept of “tetrodotoxin zombification” has also been questioned more directly on a physiological basis.^[8] TTX, which blocks sodium channels on the neural membrane, produces numbness, slurred speech, and possibly paralysis or even respiratory failure and death in severe cases. As an isolated pharmacological agent, it is not known to produce the trance-like or “mental slave” state typical of the zombies of Haitian mythology, or of Davis’s descriptions.

Personal life

Davis is married. He and his wife Gail Percy have lived in several places, sometimes with concurrent residences in

Awards and accolades

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (October 2012)

• 2002: Lowell Thomas Medal (The Explorers Club)^{[citation needed]}
• 2002: Lannan Foundation $125,000 prize for literary non-fiction^{[citation needed]}
• 2003: Honorary Degree (Doctorate of Sciences) from University of Victoria^{[citation needed]}
• 2004: Honorary Member of The Explorers Club, one of twenty^{[citation needed]}
• 2008: Honorary Degree, University of Guelph^{[citation needed]}
• 2009: Gold Medal of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society^[16]
• 2009: Speaker for the
  Massey Lectures, for his publication, The Wayfinders^[17]
• 2011: The Explorers Medal — the highest award of The Explorers Club^[citation needed]
• 2010: Honorary Degree, Colorado College^{[citation needed]}
• 2010: Honorary Doctorate of Laws, University of Northern British Columbia^{[citation needed]}
• 2012: David Fairchild Medal for Plant Exploration, considered the most prestigious prize for botanical exploration.^[18][19]
• 2012:
  Samuel Johnson Prize, winner, Into the Silence^[20]
• 2012: Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature, shortlist, Into the Silence^[21]
• 2012:
  Governor General's Literary Award, shortlist, Into the Silence ^[22]
• 2012: Banff Mountain Book Festival, Mountain & Wilderness Literature, finalist, Into the Silence ^[23]
• 2015: Order of Canada with the grade of member^[24]
• 2017: Roy Chapman Andrews Society Distinguished Explorer Award^[25]

Publications

As author

• Davis, Wade (1985). The Serpent and the Rainbow. New York: Simon & Schuster.
  ISBN 0-671-50247-6
  .
  • 1997 edition retitled: The Serpent and the Rainbow: A Harvard Scientist's[a] Astonishing Journey into the Secret Societies of Haitian Voodoo, Zombies, and Magic.
• Davis, Wade (1988). Passage of Darkness: The Ethnobiology of the Haitian Zombie. Robert F. Thompson, Richard E. Schultes. University of North Carolina Press.
  ISBN 0-8078-1776-7
  .
• Davis, Wade and Thom Henley (1990), Penan Voice for the Borneo Rain Forest, Western Canada Wilderness.
• Davis, Wade (1991), The Art of Shamanic Healing, Cross Cultural Shamanism Network.
• Davis, Wade (1996). One River: Explorations and Discoveries in the Amazon Rain Forest. New York: Simon & Schuster.
  ISBN 0-684-80886-2.^[26]
• Davis, Wade (1998). Shadows in the Sun: Travels to Landscapes of Spirit and Desire.
  ISBN 1-55963-354-9. (Published in Canada as The Clouded Leopard: A Book of Travels, Douglas & McIntyre
  , 1998.)
• Davis, Wade (2001). Light at the Edge of the World: A Journey Through the Realm of Vanishing Cultures. National Geographic.
  ISBN 0-7922-6474-6
  .
• Davis, Wade (2009). The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World. Toronto: Anansi Press.
  ISBN 0-88784-766-8
  .
• Davis, Wade (2009). Grand Canyon: River at Risk. San Rafael, CA: Earth Aware Editions.
  ISBN 1-60109-013-7
  .
• Davis, Wade (2011). Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
  ISBN 0-37540-889-4
  .
• Davis, Wade (2012). River Notes: A Natural and Human History of the Colorado. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
  ISBN 1-61091-361-2
  .
• Davis, Wade (2015). Los guardianes de la sabiduría ancestral. Su importancia en el mundo moderno. Medellín, Colombia: Sílaba Editores.
  ISBN 978-958-8794-65-5
  .

• Davis, Wade, Ian MacKenzie, and Shane Kennedy (1995), Nomads of the Dawn: The Penan of the Borneo Rain Forest.
• Osborne, Graham (Photographs) and Wade Davis (Text) (1998), Rainforest: Ancient Realm of the Pacific Northwest White River Junction, Vermont, Chelsea Green Publishing Company.
• Davis, Wade (2004), The Lost Amazon: The Photographic Journey of Richard Evans Schultes, Chronicle Books (Intro by Andrew Weil).

As editor

• Davis, Wade and K. David Harrison (2008) Book of Peoples of the World: A Guide to Cultures, National Geographic, (2nd edition).

Video

• Earthguide (1991). Cinetel Productions for the Discovery Channel. 13-part documentary on environmental issues. Davis was host and co-writer.
• "The Spirit of the Mask" (1992). Produced by Gryphon Productions. 1992. Davis was host and co-writer. 1 hour documentary.
• "Cry of the Forgotten Land" (1993). 1 hour documentary on the Moi people of West Papua, New Guinea. Davis was narrator/co-writer
• “The Explorer” Life and Times (2002). Produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) DVD by Monarch Films. 1 hour biographical documentary.
• "Grand Canyon: River at Risk" (2008). 3D IMAX, MacGillivray Freeman Films. Davis was principal character.
• Peyote to LSD: A Psychedelic Odyssey (2008). Produced in collaboration with Gryphon Productions. Filmed on location in New Mexico, Oaxaca, and lowland Ecuador. Two-hour special for the History Channel based Davis's books One River (1996) and The Lost Amazon (2004). DVD available, A&E Television Network. Davis was host/co-writer/co-producer.
• Light at the Edge of the World: Science of the Mind. Directed by Andrew Gregg, produced by Davis and Andrew Gregg for
  National Geographic
  .

Media

• Davis's research into “Haitian Zombies” was explored in an episode of Science Channel's Dark Matters: Twisted But True.
• Davis's research into “Haitian Zombies” was mentioned in an episode of CUNY TV's Science Goes to the Movies.^[27]
• Davis's research into “Haitian Zombies” was referenced in the X Files episode "Fresh Bones".

Notes

References