Introduction to Archaeobotany 3101-ANGBOT
Framework schedule:
1) Definition and basic concepts of archaeobotany. History of research.
2) Plant remains. Types of archaeological sites and preservation of plant remains. Taphonomy.
3) Dating of floral remains. History of selected cultivars.
4)Sampling and recovery methods. Sample processing in the field.
5) Laboratory methods and identification of macroremains.
6) Morphology of cereals.
7-8) Laboratory methods and identification of microremains (pollen, phytoliths, diatoms, starch).
9) Reconstruction of flora and climate.
10) Plant economy recontruction.
11) Diet reconstruction.
12) Role of molecuar biology and physico-chemical analysis in archaeobotany.
13-14) Practical workshop.
Type of course
Mode
Learning outcomes
Students will be familiarised with archaeobotany – an
interdisciplinary field of research. They will learn field and laboratory procedures and
possible contribution of archaeobotany to reconstruction of past economies. Students
will learn basic terminology and basic concepts of archaeobotany. Students will learn
the history of archaeobotany and new directions of research. After completing the
course, students will know basic methods of archaeobotanical analysis and the potential
of climate, diet and economy reconstructions based on plant remains. Students will gain
botanical knowledge which allow understanding the meaning of information in plant
remains found at the archaeological sites. Students know how correct documentation of
laboratory analysis of plant remains looks like. Students know how to present the
results of archaeobotanical analysis in the form of the report. They attempt to
reconstruct the relationship between plants and human in the past.
Assessment criteria
Attendace in classes and passing the final test.
Bibliography
ahn P. (ed.) (2014), The History of Archaeology: an Introduction, Routledge.
Campbell, G., Moffett, L. and Straker, V. (2011), Environmental Archaeology: A Guide to
the Theory and Practice of Methods, from Sampling and Recovery to Post-Excavation
(2nd Ed.). Swindon: English Heritage.
Hastorf C.A., Popper V.S. (eds.) (1988), Current Paleoethnobotany. Analytical Methods
and Cultural Interpretations of Archaeological Plant Remains, The University of Chicago
Press.
Jacomet S. et al. (2006), Identification of cereal remains from archaeological sites, Basel:
Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science.
Miller N.F., Gleason K.L. (eds.) (1994), Archaeology of Garden and Field, University of
Pennsylvania Press.
Nesbitt M. (2006), Identification guide for Near Eastern grass seeds, University College
London.
Pearsall D. (2000), Paleoethnobotany: A Handbook of Procedures, Academic Press.
Renfrew J. (1973), Paleoethnobotany. The prehistoric food plants of the Near East and
Europe, Columbia University Press.
Scott Cummings L., (2007) Manual for Pollen, Phytolith, Starch, FTIR, AMS Radiocarbon,
and Macrofloral Sampling, PaleoResearch Institute.
Zohary D., Hopf M., Weiss E. (2012), Domestication of Plants in the Old World, Oxford
University Press.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: