Paleoethnobotany

This book describes the approaches and techniques of paleoethnobotany--the study of the interrelationships between human populations and the plant world through the archaeological record. Its purpose is twofold. First, it assembles in one volume the three major methods of paleoethnobotany, the analysis of macroremains, pollen analysis, and phytolith analysis, for the student or professional interested in the field. Second, it presents on paleoethnobotanist's view of the discipline: its past, present, and future, its strengths and weaknesses, and its role in modern archaeology.ï A comprehensive reference work for archaeologists and paleobotanists interested in reconstructing interrelationships between humans and plants from the archaeological recordï The first general of work theory and methods to emerge from this subdiscipline which has developed during the past twenty yearsï Makes the approaches and techniques of this field more accessible to the general anthropological and botanical audiencesï Offers archaeologists a handbook of field sampling and flotation techniques as well as an introduction to methods of analysis and interpretation in paleoethnobotany

Deborah Pearsall earned a PhD in anthropology from the University of Illinois. She is an archaeologist whose interests center on the origins of agriculture in the New World tropics. Books include Paleoethnobotany: A Handbook of Procedures, Plants and People in Ancient Ecuador and Origins of Agriculture in the Neotropics (co-authored with D. Piperno).