Phytolith Analysis in Archaeology

Deborah Pearsall博士和Dolores Pillano博士将合作 植硅体应用三年计划 分析考古材料。 植硅体很小 硅体沉积在植物体内， 通常在死后保存在土壤中并发生分解。 虽然一种植物可能产生许多种植物的植硅体， 形状，很少有形状被限制在一个单一的物种， 有可能检查植硅体组合， 物种鉴定 皮尔索尔博士和帕西诺博士 一个多阶段的研究项目， 植硅体分析的应用 他们将研究分类学， 确定土壤处理的最佳方法以提取 植硅体，制定改进的鉴定标准，最后 关于量化程序的工作。 结果将是一系列 直接考古使用的工具。 只有在极不寻常的条件下植物的残骸 保存在考古遗址中。 因此，由于植物 如此重要的饮食作用， 重建史前饮食 在世界的热带地区， 在保存条件极差的地方， 尤其是急性。 植硅石，因为它们非常耐用， 提供了一种解决这个问题的潜在方法，因此值得 关注 然而，由于缺乏一对一的 植硅体种间对应关系分析 困难 这项研究应该有助于解决这个问题。 这个项目很重要，因为它将为考古学家， 以及古生物学家，有一个有价值的工具， 在世界上许多地方和时间段都很有用。

Drs. Deborah Pearsall and Dolores Piperno will collaborate on a three year project to develop the application of phytolith analysis to archaeological materials. Phytoliths are small bodies of silica which are deposited within plants and are usually preserved in soil after death and decomposition occurs. Although one species of plant may produce phytoliths of many shapes, and very few shapes are restricted to a single species, it is possible to examine phytolith assemblages and make some species identifications. Drs. Pearsall and Piperno will conduct a multistage research project to further archaeological application of phytolith analysis. They will examine taxonomy, determine the best methods of soil processing to extract phytoliths, develop improved identification criteria, and finally work on quantification procedures. The result will be a series of tools of direct archaeological use. Only under the most unusual conditions are plant remains preserved in archaeological sites. Thus, because plants play such an important dietary role, it is extremely difficult to reconstruct prehistoric diets. In tropical areas of the world, where preservation is extremely poor, this problem is particularly acute. Phytoliths, because they are so durable, provide a potential way around this problem and therefore merit attention. However, because of the lack of one to one correspondence between phytolith species, analysis poses difficulties. This research should help to solve this problem. The project is important because it will provide archaeologists, as well as paleobiologists, with a valuable tool which should be useful in many parts of the world and periods of time.