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Collection of Plant Remains from Archaeological Contexts

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Abstract

Plant remains from archaeological contexts constitute a variety of materials providing indications on human activity and past environments. They may be found in different archaeological structures and may be preserved in different ways (waterlogged, dried, charred, and mineralized plant remains, and plant impressions) depending on the chemical composition of the tissues and the processes of post-depositional modification. The first step for any collection of plant remains is a preliminary survey of the archaeological site, to establish the best sampling strategy and to plan times and modes of collection. Different collection techniques may be applied depending on the type of plant remains. Macrofossils interspersed in sediment are extracted using flotation or sieving (wet or dry) procedures, or a combination of methods. Fine sediments containing microfossils may be collected from resins, encrustations, material from mummies, and various types of artifacts, or from exposed stratigraphical profiles, or may be drilled from lakes and ponds in the vicinity of the archaeological site. In any case, particular attention must be paid to avoid breakage, and contamination with modern material and with plant remains from adjacent sediment layers.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Alessandra Celant & Donatella Magri

  2. Department of Humanities, Sapienza University, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, Rome, 00185, Italy

    Francesca Romana Stasolla

Authors
  1. Alessandra Celant
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  2. Donatella Magri
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  3. Francesca Romana Stasolla
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Correspondence to Alessandra Celant .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, CALGARY, Alberta, Canada

    Edward Chee Tak Yeung

  2. Department of Plant Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

    Claudio Stasolla

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

    Michael John Sumner

  4. Center for Basic Research in Digestive Disease, Mayo Clinic , Rochester, Minnesota, USA

    Bing Quan Huang

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Celant, A., Magri, D., Stasolla, F. (2015). Collection of Plant Remains from Archaeological Contexts. In: Yeung, E., Stasolla, C., Sumner, M., Huang, B. (eds) Plant Microtechniques and Protocols. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19944-3_25

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