Everything about Paleoethnobotany totally explained
Paleoethnobotany, also known as archaeobotany in European (particularly British) academic circles, is the
archaeological sub-field that studies
plant remains from archaeological sites. Major research themes are recovery and identification of plant remains, the use of wild plants, the
origins of agriculture and
domestication, and the
co-evolution of human-plant interactions.
Paleoethnobotanists use a variety of methods to identify and recover plant remains. One method used to recover macroremains is to sieve excavated material manually in a water bath in order to allow the organic material to float to the surface. This method is known as
flotation. The matrix (the soil from a suspected
archaeological feature) is slowly added to agitated water. The soil, sand, and other heavy material, known as
heavy fraction, will sink to the bottom. The less dense organic material such as charred seeds, wood and bone will tend to float to the surface. The material that floats to the top, called
light fraction, is gathered with a sieve. The organic light fraction is then available for examination. Samples of the heavy fraction are also gathered for later analysis. Other types flotation processes include machine-assisted flotation and froth flotation.
Paleoethnobotanists also recover and analyze microremains
phytoliths, pollen
palynology, human
paleofeces (sometimes called
coprolite), and impressions in ceramic sherds (such as the imprint of grains in mixing bowl).
Palynology is a mature and distinct scientific discipline that studies
pollen, typically in the context of reconstructing past environments.
Dendrochronology, the study of growth rings on trees relating to study of past environments, is another scientific discipline useful to paleoethnobotanical study.
Research
The work done in paleoethnobotany can be divided into
field work, collections management, systematic description of species, and theories into the origins of human and plant interaction. Some examples of this analysis:
A paleoethnobotanist may find discrete concentrations of burned or dried remnants of seeds in an area of discolored soil (a possible
hearth feature). If later analyses indicates that the remnants were of only mature wild seeds of a type of plant that grows locally, it could be inferred that the site was only visited seasonally. Such an inference could be supported by a lack of other features that would suggest that no permanent shelters were built at the site.
Alternatively, a paleoethnobotanist may find that a fire pit
feature contains concentrated remnants of a wide variety of edible
wild plants that mature throughout the year. An archaeologist may find
features at the site that indicate some sort of semi-permanent
dwellings (such as post holes and
middens). The middens may have
concentrations of animal remains, identified by a
zooarchaeologist as those of wild game, with a variety of species-specific maturity levels. In that case, a more permanent settlement may be inferred, perhaps to the level of a village. Such an analysis of the archaeological features could suggest a society of
hunter-gatherers who inhabited the site on a
more-or-less year-round basis.
A paleoethnobotanist may also find concentrated remains of plants
that typically are only grown through active
cultivation (such as corn, beans, and squash). At the same site, an archaeologist might identify features such as stone walls surrounding enclosures arrayed in a pattern, and deep, layered middens with concentrations of domesticated animal remains such as goats or pigs. An analysis of the site, set within the context of the archaeological features and animal and plant remains, would suggest a settled
agrarian community.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Paleoethnobotany'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://paleoethnobotany.totallyexplained.com">Paleoethnobotany Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
