Thesis (M.S.) in Quaternary and Climate Studies--University of Maine, 2004. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-167).

Thesis (M.A. in anthropology)--Washington State University, May 2010. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on May 21, 2010). "Department of Anthropology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-86).

The ancient Zapotec city of Monte Albán, in Oaxaca, Mexico, has been a focal point of numerous archaeological studies. It has long been presumed that grave offerings included a number of botanical elements such as maize. Nonetheless, studies of mortuary offerings and public activities have focused on architecture, ceramic assemblages, and human remains—not botanical residues. In this study, I examine botanical remains from vessels and sediment samples collected from mortuary contexts and sites of public rituals to provide novel information on those meaningful rites from three different angles. First, I examine the connections between the use of plants in temporally limited events (rituals) with medium-term phenomena (economic, political, social, etc.) taking place at Monte Albán. This study demonstrates the potential for future paleoethnobotanical studies targeting mortuary contexts and public rituals to provide novel information regarding ancient lifeways and beliefs. Second, in this study, I consider the relationship between botanical mortuary offerings and the social status of interred individuals at the Zapotec site. This allowed me to determine that there were no clear relationships between status of the deceased and plants placed plant offerings. Finally, I examine the relationship between private mortuary rituals and public rituals that took place at Monte Albán’s Main Plaza through the analysis of plant residues. This allows me to examine the key similarities and differences in those rituals that appear to have had different purposes. Indeed, as I argue in the following chapters, mortuary offerings were likely used to create a connection between the living and the dead, while public offerings allowed the inhabitants of Monte Albán to petition gods, spirits, and different supernatural entities. / Thesis / Doctor of Social Science

The role of plants in Neanderthal subsistence is less well known than the role of animals due to differences in preservation and a subsequent lack of study. Phytoliths, the silica infillings of plant cells, are more durable than organic components of plants and can be used to reconstruct human activities, local plant ecology, and diagenetic alteration of archaeological sediments. This dissertation, comprising three articles, examines the relationship between Neanderthals and plants during the Middle Paleolithic (ca. 100,000-40,000 BP) of southwest France using phytolith analysis. The first article provides an analysis of the phytoliths recovered from the cave site of Roc de Marsal, relating phytolith concentrations and identifications to environmental change, natural deposition, and Neanderthal pyrotechnology. The analysis of 115 phytolith samples provides evidence for spatial patterning in plant remains related to hearth features and diachronic change in plant use coincident with a shift from warm stadial to cold glacial conditions. The second article applies morphometric statistics to a specific class of phytoliths, grass cells known as bilobates, to understand the range of variation within and among grass genera and to compare these results with an archaeological phytolith assemblage. More than 200 archaeological bilobates from Roc de Marsal are compared with those from seven modern reference specimens to assess these links. The analysis of the modern material indicates that some species are good candidates for morphometrics, but others should be avoided. The range of variation and lack of patterning in the archaeological assemblage suggest that Neanderthals at this site used multiple grass species. The third article presents the analysis of 102 phytolith samples from Pech de l’Azé IV in comparison to those from Roc de Marsal. The two sites are similar in terms of chronology, stratigraphy, artifacts, and preserved combustion features, but there are key differences in the structure/morphology of hearths and phytolith densities. The comparison of these two sites highlights variation in Neanderthal pyrotechnology and fuel use. The analysis also indicates that different phytolith recovery protocols are needed to maximize phytolith extraction due to differences in formation processes between sites and should be evaluated on a site by site basis. / 2019-11-27T00:00:00Z

The general architectural transition from semi-subterranean pithouses to surface pueblos that occurred across the prehistoric North American Southwest has been attributed to increased agricultural dependence. In this study macrobotanical ubiquity scores, percentages, diversity, and richness were compared between pithouse and pueblo assemblages from the NAN Ranch Ruin, Grant County, New Mexico, to assess whether or not the macrobotanical evidence supported a link between increased agricultural dependence and the pithouse to pueblo transition at the site. Rarely were differences between values of relative macrobotanical abundance from the two periods found to be significant. Ubiquity analyses provided some evidence for greater agricultural dependence in the pueblo period. Ubiquity scores declined between the pithouse and pueblo periods for all taxa recovered from both periods, except maize (Zea mays L.) and goosefoot (Chenopodium spp.), an aggressive agricultural weed, probably because the puebloan occupants of the NAN Ranch Ruin relied more on maize agriculture than did the pithouse occupants at the site. Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) was recovered only from pueblo deposits, perhaps indicating that this crop was not grown during the earlier pithouse period. Significant differences that were detected between pithouse and pueblo values of relative macrobotanical abundance were most likely due to the effect of variable sample sizes, when all samples were combined for analysis, regardless of their recovery contexts. Although the effect of variable sample volume was controlled by analysis of sub-samples representing five liters of excavated soil, the sub-samples varied in the number of specimens present. This finding illustrates the effect of variable numbers of specimens per sample on measures of relative abundance and the importance of comparing similar contexts in quantitative studies.

The general architectural transition from semi-subterranean pithouses to surface pueblos that occurred across the prehistoric North American Southwest has been attributed to increased agricultural dependence. In this study macrobotanical ubiquity scores, percentages, diversity, and richness were compared between pithouse and pueblo assemblages from the NAN Ranch Ruin, Grant County, New Mexico, to assess whether or not the macrobotanical evidence supported a link between increased agricultural dependence and the pithouse to pueblo transition at the site. Rarely were differences between values of relative macrobotanical abundance from the two periods found to be significant. Ubiquity analyses provided some evidence for greater agricultural dependence in the pueblo period. Ubiquity scores declined between the pithouse and pueblo periods for all taxa recovered from both periods, except maize (Zea mays L.) and goosefoot (Chenopodium spp.), an aggressive agricultural weed, probably because the puebloan occupants of the NAN Ranch Ruin relied more on maize agriculture than did the pithouse occupants at the site. Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) was recovered only from pueblo deposits, perhaps indicating that this crop was not grown during the earlier pithouse period. Significant differences that were detected between pithouse and pueblo values of relative macrobotanical abundance were most likely due to the effect of variable sample sizes, when all samples were combined for analysis, regardless of their recovery contexts. Although the effect of variable sample volume was controlled by analysis of sub-samples representing five liters of excavated soil, the sub-samples varied in the number of specimens present. This finding illustrates the effect of variable numbers of specimens per sample on measures of relative abundance and the importance of comparing similar contexts in quantitative studies.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 279-296). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

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A much debated and sensationalized aspect of Classic period Maya history pertains to the understanding of the intersections between foodways, agriculture and collapse. Traditional collapse models focusing on large city centers follow the framework of environmental degradation as a result of swidden agriculture and maize monocropping leading to the Classic period Maya collapse. New research utilizing paleoethnobotanical methodologies has begun to create the foundation for a new understanding of collapse. During the Classic period an amalgamation of agricultural methods including agroforestry, homegardens and milpas coupled with a broad range of food crop species such as manioc, arrowroot, sweet potato, lerén, and canna enabled resiliency of Classic period Maya communities. In the Usumacinta River region within the southern Maya lowlands, Budsilha, a smaller secondary political center of Piedras Negras, provides the ideal location to study Classic period subsistence strategies and plant use. The purpose of this study was to determine which plants were consumed and present in the environment during the Classic period and the role of maize in subsistence relative to wild taxa and root crops. Microbotanical analysis of phytoliths and starch grains recovered from artifact residues, human teeth, and sediments provided evidence of diverse subsistence and agricultural practices. Maya people inhabiting Budsilha during the Classic period grew various drought-resistant crops such as manioc, alongside expected crops like maize. These findings have implications for understanding Classic period Maya foodways, plant use, and the framing of Maya societal “collapse”. Understanding how Maya communities were able to sustain large populations during climatic shifts can provide possible solutions for countries undergoing similar stresses today. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA) / Plant residues recovered from the archaeological record, have the potential to provide valuable information about a wide range of human-plant activities. Microscopic botanical residues were extracted from sediments and artifacts recovered from Maya archaeological contexts at the Classic period site of Budsilha, Chiapas, Mexico to track plant use and agricultural production. I targeted phytoliths (fossilized plant cells), and starch grains (a plant’s sugar storage unit) which allow for various plant taxa and species to be identified based on their distinctive morphology. This research contributed to the archaeology of the Maya area by providing new information about plant use and agricultural production. Moreover, mapping plant use during the highly populated and possibly environmentally-stressed Maya lowlands during the Classic Period (250-900 CE) reveals how ancient people were able to sustain large populations. This research can provide new insights into best practices in agriculture and environmental sustainability today.