Summary of Ethnoveterinary Medicine and Paleoethnobotany
Ethnoveterinary Medicine and Paleoethnobotany Guide
Introduction
Paleoethnobotany is the archaeological subfield that investigates how past people used plants. It combines methods from archaeology, botany, ecology, and chemistry to recover, identify, date, and interpret plant remains from archaeological contexts. The goal is to reconstruct plant-based subsistence, technology, environment, and the origins of agriculture and domestication.
Definition: Paleoethnobotany is the study of plant remains from archaeological sites to understand past human-plant interactions, use, and environment.
1. What paleoethnobotanists study
- Macrobotanical remains: seeds, fruit fragments, nutshells, charcoal, wood, and charred food visible to the naked eye.
- Microbotanical remains: pollen, phytoliths, diatoms, and fossil cuticles observed microscopically.
Types of archaeological plant preservation
| Preservation type | Common contexts | Typical remains recovered | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbonized (charred) | Hearths, ovens, kilns, pottery, storage pits | Charred seeds, wood, food fragments | Resistant to bacteria and fungi; common in many sites |
| Desiccated (parched) | Dry caves, arid coasts (e.g., Peruvian coast, Tehuacán Valley, Egypt) | Dried seeds, textiles, plant tissues | Absence of water limits microbial decay |
| Waterlogged | Anaerobic lake-shore, bogs, wetland deposits (Swiss lake-shore, North European bogs) | Seeds, wood, leaves, diatoms | Anaerobic conditions preserve soft tissues |
| Metal oxides impregnation | Sites with bronze, silver, iron artifacts under humid conditions | Impregnated plant tissues preserved by metal oxides | Metal oxides are toxic to microbes and may preserve tissues |
| Coprolites (fossilized feces) | Human/animal latrines, middens | Undigested seeds, pollen, starches | Direct evidence of diet; often parched, waterlogged, or charred |
| Resin/amber preservation | Resin-rich deposits | Plant fragments, pollen in amber | Exceptional preservation of delicate structures |
2. Recovery methods: Flotation and related techniques
Flotation recovers plant remains by exploiting density differences between organic and mineral particles.
Flotation procedure (basic)
- Place soil sample in water.
- Agitate to disaggregate the matrix.
- Light organic material floats and is skimmed off or collected on a catch sieve.
- Dry and sort recovered flot (floating material) and heavy residue.
Key factors affecting recovery
- Screen mesh size in flotation bucket and catch sieve
- Extent and consistency of agitation
- Density range of charred materials and sediments
Variations
- Simple water flotation separates light organics from heavy mineral fractions.
- Heavy liquid flotation (e.g., zinc chloride, density = $1.62$) can separate charcoal from denser bones and lithics.
- Manual flotation (field-friendly) vs machine-assisted flotation (higher throughput).
Definition: Flotation is a recovery technique using differences in density to separate plant remains from the surrounding soil matrix.
3. Taphonomy and sampling
Taphonomy here refers to processes that affect plant remains from deposition to recovery. It helps explain biases in the archaeological record.
Key taphonomic points
- The deposited assemblage (actual population) is usually unknown.
- Samples must be selected from a defined, related population (e.g., a stratigraphic unit or feature).
- Random sampling of an undefined target population is invalid; define sampling universe clearly.
- Analysis is considered complete when cumulative seed counts reach a plateau.
Sample size estimation
- Use cumulative curves of recovered seeds to identify the point of diminishing returns.
- Determine comparable sample sizes across contexts using the same flotation and sieving protocols.
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Paleoethnobotany Essentials
Klíčové pojmy: Paleoethnobotany studies plant remains to reconstruct past human-plant interactions., Major preservation modes: carbonized, desiccated, waterlogged, metal-impregnated, coprolites, and resin., Flotation separates organics from sediments by density; screen size and agitation affect recovery., Zinc chloride (density = $1.62$) is used in heavy liquid flotation to separate charcoal from denser materials., Taphonomy requires defining the sampled population and using cumulative curves to estimate representative sample size., Dendrochronology and $^{14}$C (via AMS) are primary dating methods for plant remains., Palynology, phytoliths, diatoms, and fossil cuticles are key microbotanical proxies for vegetation and environmental reconstruction., Macrobotanicals (seeds, charcoal) provide direct evidence of food and fuel; microbotanicals provide environmental and processing signals., Coprolites give direct dietary evidence by preserving undigested plant parts and pollen., Phytoliths persist in soils and can identify plant types when macrobotanicals are absent., Diatoms diagnose past water conditions (fresh, brackish, marine) from sedimentary records., Sample comparability requires standardized recovery protocols (same mesh sizes and flotation methods).