From K. Kris Hirst,
Your Guide to Archaeology.
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Definition:

A plant residue is the term used by archaeologists to refer to the microscopic parts of sticky bits left over from either processing or cooking vegetal matter.

The microscopic parts of plants are found in many archaeological contexts such as storage pit features or living floors, and also on the interiors of pots or on the surfaces of stone tools such as manos and metates that people of the past used to process plants. Plant residues which have been found archaeologically include []link url=http://archaeology.about.com/od/sterms/qt/starches.htmstarch grains[/link], opal phytoliths, and pollen.

During laboratory analysis, these residues are processed and studied under a microscope, identified to species or type if possible, and used to identify information about diet and other human uses of processed plants, or general ideas of the climate of the site vicinity.

Sources

See additional information on the glossary entries for opal phytoliths and palynology.

This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.