Phytoliths and basketry materials at Çatalhöyük (Turkey): timelines of growth, harvest and objects’ life histories (original) (raw)
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2011
Opaline phytoliths are important microfossils used in archaeological and ecological research. Relatively little is known about the stability of phytoliths after burial. Under alkaline pH conditions they can dissolve, and mechanical disturbances can cause a loss of their more delicate appendages. Here we present an experimental study of phytolith stability (combination of solubility and abrasion). Modern and fossil phytoliths were extracted from wheat using new methods to minimize dissolution, and by burning in an oven. These assemblages were placed in a solution buffered to pH 10 and maintained under constant temperature and shaking conditions. The silicon concentrations in the solution were monitored once a week for 5 weeks. The phytolith morphologies in each assemblage were determined at the outset of the experiment and after 5 weeks. The results show that there are differences in stability between various assemblages. Modern inflorescence wheat phytolith assemblages are more unstable than those from leaves/stems. Burnt assemblages are less stable than unburnt assemblages, and a fossil phytolith assemblage about 3000 years old is more stable than the modern wheat assemblages. The results also show that individual phytolith morphotypes have different stabilities, and as a result of dissolution and abrasion, some morphotypes may resemble others. This study further shows that archaeological and/or paleo-environmental interpretation of phytolith assemblages may change with the assemblage's state of preservation.
A Phytolith Study from Kinet Höyük, Hatay
A Phytolith Study from Kinet Höyük, Hatay, 2019
Phytolith studies are now an established subbranch of archaeobotanical studies. However, there is a very limited number of phytolith studies focused on Anatolia. Kinet Höyük is one of the eligible sites since extensive archaeobotanical studies were conducted and studies are ongoing. From Kinet, 23 samples are studied for phytolith analysis. 13 of them are extractions from soil samples and 10 of them are samples which are suspected to contain phytolith fibers. The contexts vary between room floor sediments to storage pits. For this study, the focus is on the multicellular phytoliths, since they can be used for a higher resolution of identification (Rosen, 1992). This study aims to observe the chronological changes in storage pit use, if there are any, and the variation between contexts. Another focus will be the use of reed in these contexts and the possible reasons for their use. For this thesis, quantifiable data was obtained and they were subject to statistical analysis. The results suggest that there are no contextual difference in the phytolith assemblage of Kinet; however, chronological changes were observed.
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2011
Investigating plants used for building and craft activities is important for understanding how environments surrounding archaeological settlements were exploited, as well as for considering the social practices involved in the creation and use of plant objects. Evidence for such plant uses has been observed at many Near Eastern Neolithic sites but not widely discussed. Survival may occur in a number of ways, including as impressions in clay, and as charred or desiccated macroremains. Another, less well-known, way in which plant artifacts can be found is as silica skeletons (phytoliths). Formed by the in situ decay of plants, their analysis may tell us about taxa exploited, and locations in which plant artifacts were used or discarded. At Catalhöyük, an abundance of silicified traces of plants used in building materials and for craft activities survive, and are found in domestic and burial contexts. Their analysis demonstrates the routine use of wild plants, especially from wetland areas, for basketry (mats, baskets and cordage) and construction, as well as the secondary use of cereal husk chaff in certain types of building materials. The numerous finds suggest that plant-based containers played an important role as an artifactual class, even after the adoption of early pottery.
2020
Out WA 2020. In: Müller, J. Ricci, A. (Eds), Past Societies. Human Development in Landscapes. Leiden, Sidestone Press, pp. 37-50. While identification criteria based on pollen, macro-remains (such as fruits) or chaff phytoliths, all originating from the flowering parts of plants, are available for various cereal crops that are of major economic importance in the world, identification criteria for the leaves of these crops, based on remains that can be recovered from the archaeological record, are very scarce. The development of relevant identification criteria can improve the visibility and understanding of crop by-products consisting of leaves in the archaeological record. This contribution provides an overview of a line of research concerning the development of phytolith-based identification criteria to distinguish between leaf phytoliths of broomcorn millet, foxtail millet, pearl millet and sorghum – four crops that have been of significant importance since prehistory.
Environmental Archaeology, 2018
Phytoliths are abundantly reported in (archaeological) soil thin sections. However, standard description systems are largely missing. The purpose of this paper is to present a descriptive system describing three aspects of phytoliths in soil thin sections: visibility, preservation and colour (VPC). The visibility expresses to which extent the phytoliths are masked or surrounded by fine material. The preservation is an indicator for the physico-chemical alterations that affected the phytoliths. Finally, colour is an indicator of the charring of the organic material surrounding the phytoliths.
In: Journal of Nordic Archaeological Science 13, pp. 11-26, 2002
At Myskdalen, a Mesolithic site, hearths and hearth pits contained morphologically more varied phytoliths than stone tools. Brackish water diatoms suggest that a presumed grinding tool was used for processing of marine material. A stone implement had abundant phytoliths attached to it indicating plant processing. Östra Vrå is an Early Neolithic site. Two grinding slabs found in a ritual context were verified as having been used for the grinding of plant remains. At Kyrktorp, an Early/Middle Neolithic site, siliceous micro-fossils on one grinding slab and a replica of it were compared. The lack of siliceous micro-fossils on the original slab indicated a different use from that of the grinding tools from Östra Vrå. Albertsro is a chieftain's farmstead from the Late Pre-Roman and Early Ro-man Iron Age. Phytoliths were abundant in the surrounding field system but the strati-graphic variations in the soil were restricted. Gribbylund is a farmstead, used from the Pre-Roman Iron Age to the Migration Period, where two cultivation phases were verified. The phytolith analysis showed that Linum usitatissimum was probably cultivated, and the concentrated stratigraphic occurrence of Chrysophyceae stomatocysts indicates that manure was used. It is concluded that siliceous microfossils can be used to deduce anthropogenic activities.
Issues and directions in phytolith analysis
This special issue examines new trends in phytolith scholarship and assesses the future direction of this field of research. The papers presented represent a broader shift in phytolith research into a new phase called the “Period of Expanding Applications”. It is characterized by 1) a rapid increase in the number of phytolith publications; 2) a diversification of research topics; 3) a reassessment of the use of radiocarbon and other isotopes in phytoliths; 4) the development of digital technologies for refining and sharing phytolith identifications; 5) renewed efforts for standardization of phytolith nomenclature and labora- tory protocol; and 6) the development of the field of applied phytolith research. This paper argues that interdisciplinary collaborations and a continued effort to understand the basics of phytolith production patterns are essential for the growth of the discipline and its application in archaeological studies.
2021
The article describes the results of investigations of the sub-recent assemblages of silica phytoliths in top soils of various modern plant communities of the Middle Volga region in Tatarstan, Samarskaya and Ulyanovskaya oblasts conducted in 2017–2020. Counts of various phytolith morphotypes from 40 samples suggest a relatively low level of vegetation community specificity as revealed by multivariate statistical analyses. Nevertheless, coniferous and mixed forests can be distinguished based on the presence of a suite of conifer phytoliths, while steppes can be identified based on high proportion of rondels. Deciduous forests of the region can be detected based on high proportion of straight elongates and acutous bulbosus (trichome) type. Some matchings are made to 10 archaeological samples from various strata and ages across the region. Such samples reveal high proportion of cultured grass phytoliths and are most similar to steppes or agricultural assemblages in the modern dataset.
Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science (Third Edition), 2025
Phytoliths are a class of microfossils produced in many, but not all, families of higher plants and composed of amorphous silica or opal. They are a class of microfossils that can be used as a proxy for reconstructing terrestrial vegetation, agricultural practices, and diets, especially in arid, semiarid, and oxidative contexts where pollen is scarce. Although phytoliths are especially abundant and have been well studied in grasses (Poaceae) and sedges (Cyperaceae), they are produced by over 50 families of higher plants. Given their relatively low level of taxonomic resolution they work particularly well in multiproxy projects complementing information from other sources.
Phytoliths as proxies of human activities in natural contexts.
J. Svoboda (Ed.) Dolní Vestonice II. Chronoestratigraphy, paleoethnology, paleoanthropology. The Dolní Vestonice Studies, volume 21, pp. 84-94. Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic., 2016
Layout: Petra Hájková Print: Azu design s. r. o., Bayerova 805/40, 60200 Brno Cover: M. Frouz (objects), P. Dvorský (drawing), J. Svoboda (graphic design) Frontispices: M. Novák (maps of Dolní Věstonice II and III