Floral Analysis: Plant Remains and Past Peoples

Vegetation abounds in the Upper Midwest, from forests to marshy grasslands to farm fields. Archaeologists can study how people collected, grew, and used plants by examining the floral remains they left behind, usually charred or desiccated (dried-out) seeds and other plant parts that have preserved in the soil. Here, MVAC Research Intern Cindy Kocik explores how floral analysis helps us to grow our understanding of people and plants in the past.
Here's what the video covers, and some links for further information:
Timecodes
00:00
00:05 - Introduction
01:02 - What We Need to Find the Seeds
03:52 - Picking through the Plant Remains
07:42 - Identification Resources
09:27 - Features to Look For
11:09 - Examples from the Upper Midwest
16:12 - Interpreting the Floral Finds
19:04 - Summary and Resources
Links to useful MVAC webpages:
-Corncob: www.uwlax.edu/...
-Ecofacts: www.uwlax.edu/...
-Flora: www.uwlax.edu/...
-Floral Analysis: www.uwlax.edu/...
-Flotation: www.uwlax.edu/...
-Garden: www.uwlax.edu/...
-Light Fraction: www.uwlax.edu/...
-Native Knowledge: www.uwlax.edu/...
-Seeds - Blackberry: www.uwlax.edu/...
-Thatch: www.uwlax.edu/...
-Tobacco: www.uwlax.edu/...
-Wild Rice: www.uwlax.edu/...
Links to useful MVAC videos:
-Flotation: Step by Step - MVAC Lab - MVAC video on UA-cam demonstrating how archaeologists process soil samples to recover charred plant remains, as well as bones and artifacts: • Flotation: Step by Ste...
-Flotation: The Basics - MVAC Lab - a shorter version of the flotation video covering the fundamentals of the method: • Flotation: The Basics ...
-Size Grading - MVAC video on UA-cam showing how and why archaeologists separate materials by size using nested geologic mesh screens: • Size Grading
Useful link:
Native American Ethnobotany Database - A searchable database of ethnographic information on how different Native American groups use plants for food, medicine, dyes, and raw materials for items like baskets: naeb.brit.org/
Image Credits
-Photos of snail shells; fish bone; fish scale; ants; wood; groundcherry; goosefoot; raspberry/blackberry; corn kernels; beans; butternut, black walnut, and charred hickory nutshell close-ups; sedges; and wheat or barley: Dr. Constance Arzigian, MVAC Senior Research Associate and Senior Lecturer in the UWL Department of Archaeology & Anthropology
-Scanning electron microscope (SEM) photos of fungus, wood sorrel, tobacco, squash rind, little barley, and elderberry: Dain Martinek
-Seed diagrams redrafted from Martin and Barkley 1961:Figures 24, 36-38, and 78-80.
References
-Martin, Alexander C., and William D. Barkley
1961 Seed Identification Manual. University of California Press, Berkeley.
-Wilson, Gilbert Livingstone (editor)
1917 Agriculture of the Hidatsa Indians: An Indian Interpretation. University of Minnesota Studies in the Social Sciences No. 9. Minneapolis. Available online at digital.librar....
Artifact Identification
Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse works mainly in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa and can provide information related to that region. If you would like information on artifacts, email a description of the item and where it was found, and attach a picture of the artifact with a scale to show its size. For more information visit MVAC’s website at: www.uwlax.edu/....
For information on other regions, we suggest contacting the appropriate state archaeologist from the following list: sites.google.c....

[@sandranojiri5579]

Very informative! Great pictures!