Methodological issues in paleoethnobotany: A consideration of issues, methods, and cases

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the current perspectives on paleoethnobotany, and the methods and techniques involved in the analysis of archaeological plant remains. The topic is not new, and for nearly three quarters of a century, paleoethnobotanists have not only contributed substantially to a broad range of archaeological questions, but have also complied detailed guides and summaries of state-of-the-art recovery techniques and laboratory analyses. What is new are the more careful and explicit treatments of the processes that have led to the formation of the paleoethnobotanical record. These processes-or what can be thought of as additional variables-are the subject of field tests and laboratory experiments that have been conducted around the world. Because understanding these processes can contribute to the advancement of paleoethnobotany and are essential to attempts at integrating information derived from plant and animal assemblages, they drive much of the discussions in the pages that come up later (for similar treatment of zooarchaeological remains, see Peres, chapter Methodological Issues in Zooarchaeology, this volume). © 2010 Springer-Verlag New York.