Phytolith Systematics: An Introduction

Abstract

Phytoliths, microscopic mineral deposits in plants, have the potential for encoding significant archaeological and paleoenvironmental information. Although common throughout the plant kingdom and preserved under varied environmental conditions, only recently have phytoliths been examined in the systematic manner that yields data useful for interpretation. The most crucial area remains systematics---the description of shape and distribution data within the plant kingdom. Calcium phytoliths have been observed from the beginnings of microscopy, yet crystal and amorphous shapes are still described only in the most general of terms. Opal phytoliths have received much recent attention, but many plant taxa are yet to be carefully examined. A wide variety of approaches has been taken towards phytolith classification, often based on specific applications of the data. This volume presents some of the current research on various topics within phytolith systematics.