Plant Micro

1
Plant Micro

• Macrofossils
• Plant remains that can be seen with the naked eve
  or with little magnification.
• Microfossils
• Plant remains, other than pollen, that can be
  seen without the aid of high-power
  magnification(100x or more)

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Plant macrofossils and Paleoethnobotany

• Paleoethnobotny is the study of human use of
  plants in the past.
• The most commonly found macrofossil is the seed
  other plant elements, such as flowers, stems,
  leaves, and roots are less commonly found.
• The more woody or fibrous the plant element, the
  better chance of survival in sediments and soils.

3

• An important source of dietary information comes
  from plant elements that have survived the
  digestive process and are preserved in
  coprolites.
• The fossilized remains of feces, human and
  animal, preserve direct evidence of what people
  were eating in a given environment.
• Coprolites provide useful information for
  archaeology. Bacteria, parasites, feathers have
  been preserved on coprolites

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Interpretation of Sediments

• Lake Neuchatel, Switzerland
• Surveys have been conducted over large stretches
  of lake bottom that contained several
  archaeological sites.
• Archaeolologists have found traces of humanity
  extending back to the Middle Paleolithic
  (ca.35,000BP)
• Found evidence of the Oscillations in the early
  Holocene climate as well as remains of camps of
  upper Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic hunters
  evidence of cultural transition.

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Anthropic Soils

• Dark A horizons that are greater than 40 cm thick
  and are man-made are teamed culti-soils or sod.
• In these soils are man-made amendments such as
  manure and organic debris.
• The depths of these soils are enhanced by
  earthworm activity.

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Age Determination Using Soil Color

• E.A. Bettis Suggested age determination can be
  developed using sediment characteristics
  including soil color, mottle patterns, and
  organic content.
• Deposits can be characterized as
• Early to Middle Holocene(EMH)
• Late Holocene (LH)
• Historic(H)

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Characterized deposits into three groups.

• Those older than 3000-4000 years.(EMH)
• Those younger than(1) but prehistoric(LH)
• Historic deposits
• Soil color is a key determinant of the age
  deposit. Color changes during drying.
• Different rates of drying can be useful in
  showing up layers or horizons of different
  texture, structure, or organic content.