Plant Remains

1
Plant Remains

• John Lee
• Brandi Firestine
• Section 106

J. Matsunaga
2
Paleobotany

• Paleobotany is the study of fossil plants from
  archaeological contexts.
• This study is becoming more important
• Tells us about the roles of plants in the lives
  of prehistoric and historic man
• Answers questions regarding diet, subsistence,
  season of occupation, trade, and site function

J. Matsunaga
3
Method

• Past archaeologists used stratified random
  sampling and mesh sieving
• American archaeologists used a more efficient
  method called flotation
• A soil sample is added to water
• Stirred until strong vortex forms
• The floating material (light fraction) is poured
  through a micron mesh sieve
• Additional water is added and process repeated
  until all floating material is removed from
  sample
• The material that remains in bottom (heavy
  fraction) is poured through a mesh screen
• The floated portion is allowed to dry, and then
  examined through a microscope

J. Matsunaga
John W. Hoopes
4
Materials Found

• Charred and uncharred macrofloral remains
• Mostly charred remains because few seeds live
  longer than a century, and most live for a much
  shorter time
• Most uncharred seeds die, decompose, and decay
• Remains include seeds, charcoal, wood, corn cobs,
  kernels, and other plant parts
• Usually recovered from sediment samples
• For stratified layers important to sample and
  process each layer separately because it provides
  more detailed records of how feature was used

J. Matsunaga
Gethealthyshop.com
5
Gomolava
-Remains retrieved by flotation -einkorn, emmer,
bread wheat, six-row barley, millet and lentils
formed staple plant diet -emmer wheat, bread
wheat, and lentil most abundant in later soil
samples meaning they were domesticated
-Carbonized spikelets were also found
Bioweb.wku.edu
www.friendsofanimals.com
6
Conclusion

• Charred seeds were very few so assumptions may be
  incorrect
• Seeds may have been eroded or the cereal crop was
  brought into the Vinca settlement later on
• Spikelet forks tell us the Vinca farmers threshed
  very carefully and did not spoil much of their
  crops
• We know the staple plant diet of the settlers

J. Matsunaga
7
References

• Bottema, S., and B.S. Ottaway
• 1982 Botanical, Malacological and
  Archaeological Zonation of Settlement Deposits at
  Gomolava. Journal of Archaeological Science
  9221-246
• Grueger, Eberhard, and Hans Jurgen Beug
• 1988 Botanical Investigations at Divostin and
  Grivac. In Divostin and the Neolithic of Central
  Serbia. Alan McPherron and Dragoslav Srejovic,
  eds. Pp. 415-418. Pittsburgh Department of
  Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh.
• Van Zeist, W.
• 1975 Preliminary Report on the Botany of
  Gomolava. Journal of Archaeological Science 2
  315-325
• http//www.paleoresearch.com/services/mfa.html
• Photos courtesy of John Matsunaga.
• Other photos-http//www.ku.edu/hoopes/methods/me
  thods.html
• -http//www.gethealthyshop.com/grains/grai
  ns.htm
• -http//www.agric.ucdavis.edu/crops/cereal
  s/cereal.htm
• -http//www.bioweb.wku.edu/courses/BIOL115
  /Wyatt/Plants/seeds/seeds.htm
• -http//www.friendsofanimals.org/farm/heal
  th.htm