As part of our diet, what we build our homes of and what we burn in our fires, among so many other things we produce and eat, plants have to be a crucial part of the study of archaeology.
From the Quaternary Environments Network, preliminary land ecosystem maps of the world since the last glacial maximum
An article in NAYA on the importance of the Acura palm tree to prehispanic populations in South America. Spanish.
A directory of people working in pollen studies, from the Canadian Association of Palynologists.
A bibliography of the use of the flotation method to recover small seeds from archaeological features at sites.
Archaeological flotation involves using water to process soil or feature fill to recover tiny artifacts.
From Paleoresearch Institute, a commercial laboratory conducting pollen and phytolith analyses among others, a manual on how to correctly sample for such research.
The analysis of opal phytoliths has become, over the past thirty years or so, a workhorse of archaeological science. Phytolith analysis is an example of how inventive researchers in archaeology use the hard science processes of botany and geology to illuminate the soft-science interpretations of our human past.
An opal phytolith is a tiny, three-dimensional copies of a plant cells created by a plant as a product of taking in water with dissolved silica.
From the University of Arizona, a mighty compilation of things, including a virtual palynology tour.
The study of paleobotany involves the investigation of plants and plants pieces in the past.
Paleoenvironmental reconstruction refers to the investigations which are undertaken to reconstruct the climate of a specific time and place.
The study of pollen, virtually indestructible, microscopic, but easily identifiable plant parts, has assisted many archaeologist in discovering diet and climatic data at sites, from Owen Davis's Palynology Page.
Archaeological palynology is the study of pollen, the virtually indestructible, microscopic, but easily identifiable plant parts in archaeological sites.
Starches are a part of plant chemistry that archaeologists use to identify plant use, dietary elements, and past climate and vegetation.
An interesting, nifty little site from the University of Pennsylvania.
Several very interesting traditional and modern modified recipes for traditional Native American foods, including processing steps for acorn, pemmican, squash blossoms, and fish head soup. From the Redhawk site.
