Starch grain residue analysis was conducted on 18 artifacts collected in 2021 from the archaeological site 8BR158 on the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This paleoethnobotanical analysis investigates plant use by the pre-historic inhabitants of the Central Coast of Florida where there is a lack of archaeobotanical research. The starches recovered from the archaeological artifacts were studied in order to identify plants used for culinary and/or medicinal purposes. Wild plants commonly found in Florida, such as acorn (Quercus), were identified in this study that were used for food resources. Domesticated plants such as maize and beans were also identified in this study, which was an unexpected finding. This research contributes information on the relationship between pre-historic plants and the pre-historic inhabitants of the Cape Canaveral area.

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xv, 296 p. : ill. (some col.) A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries under the call number: KNIGHT E78.O6 H44 2001 / This study analyzes the botanical and archaeological material from a Middle Holocene occupation at the Bergen site, located in the Fort Rock Basin, Oregon. It serves to complement and enhance over a decade of research focused on regional settlement patterns in the Northern Great Basin. While previous studies in the region have focused on broadly based settlement patterns, this study shifted the interpretive lens toward an in-depth analysis of a single family dwelling, which was occupied some 6000 years ago. It thus introduces the domain of "household archaeology" into the practice of archaeological research in the Northern Great Basin for the first time. Macrobotanical analysis was conducted on 215 soil samples collected on a 50cm grid from this house. An additional 20 samples were analyzed from a second house structure at the site. These analyses have provided evidence of diet, environment, and social behavior associated with the prehistoric occupants of the house. The abundance of charred bulrush (Scirpus ), goosefoot (Chenopodium ), and waada (Suaeda ) seeds in the deposits indicate that small seeds of wetland-adapted plants were an important dietary resource during the Middle Holocene in the Fort Rock Basin. The patterned distribution of botanical material in 215 soil samples across the floor of the house provide strong evidence of prehistoric human activity areas. The highest concentration of seeds and charcoal in the house was located near the central fire hearth, where cooking and food preparation took place. An east-facing entryway is suggested by the presence of a secondary concentration of seeds and charcoal on the eastern edge of the structure. Analysis also revealed a differential distribution of seed types across the house floor. Higher concentrations of bulrush in the northern area of the floor, away from the hearth, suggest the presence of sleeping mats. Results of this study indicate that plant remains are not evenly distributed through archaeological deposits, therefore care must be taken when sampling for macrobotanical remains. Research at the Bergen site provides the basis for recommendations to assist future archaeologists in determining the best and most cost-effective locations within excavations to take macrobotanical samples. / Committee in charge: Dr. C. Melvin Aikens, Chair; Dr. Theresa O'Neil; Dr. Dennis Jenkins; Dr. Daniel Close

La culture de l’olivier et la production d’huile, du Néolithique à l’Empire romain : le cas particulier de la péninsule Ibérique. Ce titre met en lumière les deux axes principaux de cette recherche doctorale. La première concerne la domestication de la plante à partir des zones refuges de l’oléastre en Méditerranée ; la deuxième, l’apparition des différentes technologies de production oléicole, leur évolution, ainsi que les héritages observés entre les différents peuples du Bassin entre le Néolithique et l’Empire romain. Toutes ces problématiques sont analysées à partir du cas précis de la péninsule Ibérique, extrémité occidentale de la Méditerranée, lieu d’échanges et d’influences d’origine orientale – phéniciennes et grecques, principalement. Grâce à l’étude de la domestication et des premières implantations de l’olivier il a pu être mis en évidence la nécessité d’associer l’archéobotanique – identification d’endocarpes, du charbon de bois et du pollen – à la génétique. Cette dernière a récemment permis de démontrer l’autochtonie de la plante en Méditerranée occidentale depuis les dernières glaciations, contestant ainsi les théories diffusionnistes d’une origine phénicienne – exclusivement orientale – de l’espèce et de l’oléiculture. La deuxième partie consacrée à l’étude de la technologie oléicole péninsulaire, démontre l’importance d’une machinerie de type artisanal et local, contemporaine d’une mécanique de type « préindustrielle » d’origine orientale. Les deux groupes typologiques se complètent et s’influencent jusqu’à l’arrivée de l’industrie oléicole romaine. / The culture of olive tree and the production of olive oil from the Neolithic Era to the Roman Empire: the case of the Iberian Peninsula. The title highlights the two main research lines of this doctoral thesis. On the one hand, the domestication of the olive plant from the refuge areas of oleaster in the Mediterranean Sea; on the second hand, the emergence of different technologies of oil production, evolution and legacy observed between the different cultures of the Mediterranean from the Neolithic Era to the Roman Empire. All these issues are studied within the specific context of the Iberian Peninsula, western end of the Mediterranean world and place of exchanges and influences of from Eastern cultures - namely Phoenician and Greek. Through the study of domestication and first implantations of the olive tree emerged the need of involving scientific research from archaeobotany - identification of endocarps, wood charcoal and pollen - to genetics. The latter has recently demonstrated the indigeneity of the plant in West Mediterranean since the last glaciations, thus disputing the “diffusionist” theories of a Phoenician origin - exclusively Eastern - of the varieties of olive and their production. The second part of the research, dedicated to the study the Peninsular technology of olive oil, demonstrates the importance of craft and local machinery, as well as contemporary ‘preindustrial’ types of Eastern origin. Both typological groups complement and influence each other until the introduction of Roman olive industry.

Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2006. / Bibliography: leaves 105-114. Also available online.

Three continuous terrestrial high-resolution palaeoenvironmental records for the Late-glacial and the Holocene have been reconstructed for different ecosystems in Fuego-Patagonia on a longitudinal transect at latitude 53°S. The records describe the nature and extent of environmental and climatic changes inferred from palynological evidence supported by lithostratigraphy, tephrochronology and radiocarbon dating. The environmental changes recorded at the three sites displays a significant degree of synchrony in response to similar large-scale climatic changes. Clear stratigraphical evidence alongside the pollen record indicates a shift to warmer interstadial conditions between c. 14,800 Cal yr BP and 14,400 Cal yrs BP. During the period coeval with ACR the vegetation was dominated by cold resistant dry land herbs such as Poaceae, Asteraceae (Suf. Asteroideae) and Acaena, by c. 13,200 Cal yr BP the vegetation changed from the dominance of cold resistant dry land herbs towards more mesic conditions and the expansion of steppe dominated by Poaceae with patches of Nothofagus forest. The establishment of the forest and an eastward shift of the forest-steppe ecotone by c. 12,500 Cal yr BP from which a gradual shift from colder to warmer conditions and the relatively stronger influences of the SSWs is inferred. The sequence of Late-glacial environmental changes places Fuego-Patagonia within the new palaeoecological data provided by this study includes “the earliest” evidence for the establishment of subantarctic Nothofagus forest during the LGIT in Fuego-Patagonia. During the Early-Holocene two major phases of Nothofagus forest expansion were registered between c. 11,700 - 10,500 Cal yr BP and c. 9,500 - 8,200 Cal yr BP. These intervals of expansion of Nothofagus forest are separated by an interval of forest contraction in response to lower effective moisture between c. 10,500 - 9,500 Cal yr BP. An intense arid phase is inferred between c. 8,250 Cal yr BP and 6,800 Cal yr BP and probably leading to an increase in the amount of dry fuel available during the mid-Holocene in Fuego-Patagonia leading to the highest fire activity promoted by very weak SSWs at this time. The later Holocene was characterised by an increase in humidity and an inferred intensification of the SSWs.

PhD (Botany) / Department of Botany / Ethnobotanical information still needs documentation as this will assist in the preservation of information for future generation. It becomes most important, particularly when considering the neglected ethnic subgroups. From fourteen villages in the Ehlanzeni district; elders, community adults and youth were selected by means of snow balling technique and a semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview them. Data was analysed by calculating the use value of selected plant species on common ailments. Hundred and forty-eight plants were observed as being utilized by Mapulana as food (fruits and African leafy vegetables), fuelwood, medicine and the making of utensils. The majority of the recorded plant species (54%) were native while 46% were naturalized. The majority of plants (37%) were utilized as medicine only, while food contributed only 19 percent usage, followed by medicine (13%), fuelwood (4%) and utensils (1%). A total of hundred and six plant species were identified as medicine treating 50 different ailments. Roots and leaves were the highly preferred plant and herb parts collected. The results showed that Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra (use value of 0.86) was reported as being used in four different ways; seconded by Cucurbita maxima (use value of 0.58) with two different uses. Numerous medicinal uses were observed from Aloe zebrina (use value 0.38) and Aloe marlothii (use value 0.29). Ailments with Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) were gonorrhea (1.80), stomach cleansing (1.40), chicken and cow diseases (1.19), bad luck (0.88), flu (0.84), and diarrhea (0.80). There were, in addition, many ailments with low ICF known by the elders and few community adults proving that the elderly are custodians of indigenous knowledge. Twenty-six line transects of 100m x 10m in size were constructed in determining the population structure of Peltophorum africanum Sond. in Bolla-Tau village. A total of 256 individuals were recorded from the transects. Data was analyzed using IBM Statistical Product and Service solutions (SPSS) statistics version 25 and Microsoft Excel 2013 version. The population structure of P. africanum was found to be bell-shaped. Logarithmic analysis, along with generalized log analysis depicts, that there was significance difference between the plant height and stem circumference. Resprouts of P. africanum individuals were only 18% and a majority of individuals (82%) were harvested. The study revealed that 43.84% of P. africanum individuals had traces of crown damage, as compared to individuals with healthy crowns (35.9%). The rest of the individuals had either light or moderate crown-health status. / NRF

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