{"id":6913,"date":"2025-04-24T05:29:22","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T05:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/?page_id=6913"},"modified":"2025-06-12T22:18:06","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T22:18:06","slug":"t12-s02-papers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/t12-s02-papers\/","title":{"rendered":"T12\/S02: From Ecology to Technology: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Plant-Based Artefacts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Format: Paper presentations with discussion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Convenors: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raquel Piqu\u00e9 
Dept. of Prehistory, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) Bellaterra, Spain
raquel.pique@uab.cat<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosa M. Albert 
Dept. of Prehistory, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) Bellaterra, Spain; ICREA (Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies) Barcelona, Spain)
RosaMaria.Albert@uab.cat<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna Franch
Centro Austral de Investigaciones Cient\u00edficas (CADIC-CONICET), Ushuaia, Argentina
anna.franch5@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This session will explore the often-overlooked role of plant-based materials in archaeological research, examining their contribution to understanding past ecological systems, technological innovations, and cultural practices. We also aim to contribute to an active debate on recent advances and emerging perspectives in the multidisciplinary approaches to reveal the \u2018invisible\u2019 plant-based artefacts and materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We seek contributions dealing with aspects such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7     Methods for identifying and analysing plant-based artefacts.
\u00b7     Case studies demonstrating the use of plants in ancient technologies (e.g., textiles, tools, household equipment, and construction).
\u00b7     The relationship between plant-based artefacts and ecological knowledge in past cultures.
\u00b7     How advances in analytical techniques and cross-disciplinary collaboration can shed new light on plant-related archaeological materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By bridging the fields of archaeology, botany, and technology, this session aims to bring together different academics to contribute to our understanding of how ancient societies interacted with their environments, the strengths and weaknesses of currently applied methodological approaches, their complementarity, and future perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Papers:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Application of Lipid Biomarkers in Deciphering Quaternary Human Evolution in the Indian Subcontinent: An Integrative Review<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diptimayee Behera, Dept of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali, India; Dept of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, UK <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charusmita Gadekar, Dept of History and Archaeology, Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence, Gautam Buddha Nagar, India<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This review article presents an integrated application of lipid biomarkers to unravel the narrative of Quaternary human evolution. The study highlights the empirical and experimental foundations laid by numerous investigations, contributing to our knowledge of sedimentary deposits, ecofacts, and artefacts that preserve organic residues containing lipid biomarkers. The advancements in lipid analysis, with enhanced analytical tools and approaches to data acquisition and interpretation, have provided an intuitive paradigm for comprehending various archaeological investigations. Concise documentation is provided on the process of establishing protocols for extracting and isolating lipid biomarkers, and instrumentation that enable the detection, identification, and quantification of biomarkers. The utilisation of compound groups like fatty acids, alcohols and triacylglycerides for dietary reconstruction and subsistence transition is explored. Molecular markers, including n-alkanes, lignins, terpenoids, and the related parametric ratios, are also discussed, offering an elaborate understanding of vegetation shift, thereby suggesting environmental and climatic change. An overview of relevant studies conducted within the Indian subcontinent and worldwide underscores the application of suggested lipid markers and subsequent technological advancements in archaeological contexts. The work highlights the paucity of studies within the Indian subcontinent, underlining the imperative for more extensive research to address lingering questions surrounding human history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ploidy Level, Domestication and Phytolith Production in Cereals: A Tool for the Reduction of Uncertainty in the Taxonomic Description of Cereal Phytoliths<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oriol Andreu Diez, Elisabetta Boaretto, Jaume Pellicer Moscard\u00f3 and Rosa M. Albert, Dept of Prehistory, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reference collections and quantitative analysis are a powerful tool to extract the information contained in phytoliths in order to improve the taxonomic identification of plants in archaeological sites. However, the resolution of taxonomic ascription of phytoliths still presents some limitations to reach the genus or species level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polyploidy events are common in plants, and in the case of cereals such as wheat, these events have been crucial due to their adaptive potential to different environments. Some studies show that an increase in ploidy level affects phytolith production in some phytolith morphotypes, such as papillate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to improve plant identification through phytoliths in archaeological sites, we have designed an experiment to investigate how plant genetic imprinting, and human influence on domestication processes, affect phytolith formation in cereals. For this purpose, we have cultivated different cereals under controlled conditions, from seed germination to inflorescence development, with the aim of comparing the results with the agricultural levels of the Tel Shimron site (Jezreel Valley, Israel). The results show that measuring the degree of variability in papillate morphotypes could provide a criterion for differentiating between taxonomic groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organic Residues on Prehistoric Plant Artefacts: A Case Study from Cueva de los Murci\u00e9lagos, Andalusia, Spain<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingrid Bertin, Departament de Prehist\u00f2ria, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain; Universit\u00e9 C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur, CNRS, CEPAM, Nice, France<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Francisco Mart\u00ednez-Sevilla and Maria Herrero-Otal, Departamento de Historia y Filosof\u00eda, \u00c1rea de Prehistoria, Universidad de Alcal\u00e1, Alcal\u00e1 de Henares, Spain<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maria Martin-Seijo, Instituto de Ciencias del Patrimonio (INCIPIT), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient\u00edficas (CSIC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raquel Piqu\u00e9, Departament de Prehist\u00f2ria, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite their rarity, prehistoric plant-fibre and wooden artefacts offer insights into past technologies and funerary practices. La Cueva de los Murci\u00e9lagos (Albu\u00f1ol, Granada, Spain) is a key site for Late Prehistory, renowned for its exceptional preservation of desiccated organic materials due to microclimatic conditions. The site, disturbed by 19th-century miners, revealed human remains from at least 68 individuals alongside basketry and wooden objects. Latest research has located their deposition within occupations from the Late Mesolithic to Bronze Age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several artefacts presented residues of food deposits or adhesives. To investigate their function in the funerary context, we conducted FTIR-ATR, lipid, and protein analyses. Results revealed complex residues: birch bark tar on arrow shafts (functional or decoration), a fat-resin mixture in baskets (waterproofing or ritual offerings), and degraded food traces on wooden utensils. A Bronze Age bowl, repaired with a fat-resin adhesive, attested to reuse practices. While lipids were well-preserved, proteins were undetectable, emphasising methodological limitations in residue from plant-fibre artefacts. Modern contamination was also identified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These results provide new insights into the funerary behaviours and technological practices of prehistoric communities in southeastern Iberia, while highlighting the challenges and limitations of multi-method residue analysis of plant artefacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reconstruction of Ancient Dietary Behaviours of the People of Thimlich Ohinga<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Munyao, British Institute in Eastern Africa<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This research is about dietary behaviour of ancient people of Thimlich Ohinga, Kenya, and the first time that residue analysis shall be conducted on ceramics from this UNESCO world heritage site. The research will endeavour to add knowledge to the subsistence economy of prehistoric people. Many ancient dietary behaviours of pre-historic people across the country have been studied to realise a complete understanding of their subsistence economy. But to arrive at the conclusion of what was the dietary behaviour of a particular pre-historic community, the researchers have used macroscopic analysis of lithics and pottery found in archaeological contexts. This study will use a new approach of reconstructing ancient diet. Microscopic analysis of food residues recovered from pottery will be used as an alternative method to give evidence of the dietary behaviour of the prehistoric people of Thimlich Ohinga. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysing Textile Patterns in Ceramic Imprints from the Chorrera (1000- 400 BC) and Jama Coaque (300 BC- AD 1600) Cultures of the Northern Coast of Ecuador<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melany Vel\u00e1squez, Alumni of San Francisco of Quito University, Ecuador<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studying pre-Hispanic textiles in Ecuador is challenging due to the tropical climate, which accelerates the decay of organic materials. While preserved textiles are rare, indirect evidence survives, particularly linked to copper artefacts (Delgado 2002; Guevara 2018). Archaeological research focuses on two main methods: identifying textile imprints on ceramics and analysing tools like spindle whorls and weaving devices. These imprints act as negative replicas, capturing intricate textile patterns (Echeverr\u00eda 1981; L\u00f3pez Campeny 2011). This study combines microtomography, non-fired ceramic imprints, and ceramic analysis to uncover weaving patterns in pre-Hispanic ceramics. Although no direct textile artifacts have been found on Ecuador\u2019s coast, numerous sites have yielded textile impressions. Early research at Real Alto (Santa Elena province) revealed Valdivia-phase imprinted clay fragments (Marcos, 1973). Stothert (1990) expanded this work, using moulds to study imprints from Chorrera, Jama Coaque, and Bah\u00eda figurines. Additional studies in Esmeraldas (Guinea 2003), Guangala (Federman 2006), and Pedernales (Dom\u00ednguez 2016) have further supported these findings. This study examines Chorrera (800\u2013400 BCE) and Jama Coaque (300 BCE\u20131500 CE) ceramic fragments to analyse textile patterns through pottery imprints, offering new insights into pre-Hispanic textile traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Processing the Past: Raw Plant Materials and Fibre Technologies in the Canary Islands<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maria Herrero-Otal, Departamento de Historia y Filosof\u00eda, \u00c1rea de Prehistoria, Universidad de Alcal\u00e1, Spain; Departament de Prehist\u00f2ria, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres, Spain<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna Homs and Raquel Piqu\u00e9, Departament de Prehist\u00f2ria, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paloma Vidal-Matutano, UDI de Prehistoria, Arqueolog\u00eda e Historia Antigua, Departamento de Geograf\u00eda e Historia, Universidad de La Laguna, San Crist\u00f3bal de La Laguna<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Canary Islands, located about 100 km north-west of Africa, were inhabited in the first millennium AD. Until recently, their history has been studied mainly through the analysis of non-perishable materials and anthracological and carpological remains. However, thanks to the ForestImpact and PERISHABLE projects (Spanish Ministry of Science) wood and plant fibre objects, remarkably well preserved due to the islands\u2019 dry climate, are providing new insights and deepening our understanding of these ancient communities. Plant fibre objects\u2014baskets, cords, clothing accessories and burial bundles\u2014are an essential part of the archaeological record of the Canary Islands. For the first time, a preliminary analysis of the processing of plant fibres has been carried out in terms of typology, morphology, technology and possible functionality, taking into account the distribution of resources in the archaeological remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The identification of raw materials revealed the use of sedges and palms for some objects. Although the raw materials appear homogeneous at first sight, significant differences in their preparation were observed. The results suggest that the choice of materials, as well as the processing of the fibres, reflect a successful intergenerational transmission of plant management and highlight the environmental knowledge practices of the Canarian people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Hidden in Perishable Material Culture: Biographies of Iron Age Wooden Bowls<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mar\u00eda Mart\u00edn Seijo, Instituto de Ciencias del Patrimonio (INCIPIT), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient\u00edficas (CSIC)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This paper presents a detailed biographical approach to the Iron Age wooden bowls of the Cameixa hillfort (Bobor\u00e1s, Ourense, Spain) in Northwest Iberia. This approach facilitates the analysis of multiple meaning layers associated to these objects, understanding them as an agent, and stressing the entanglement established between objects and humans in different chronological periods. This object was the first evidence of Iron Age perishable material culture made of wood recovered, studied and published in Northwest Iberia. It was found in the framework of the archaeological excavations performed at Cameixa between 1944 and 1946 that were leaded by Xaqu\u00edn Lorenzo. The fragments were stored at the Museo Arqueol\u00f3xico Provincial de Ourense, and have been recently studied in the framework of archaeological research projects. The study of its material nature, properties, cha\u00eenes-op\u00e9ratoires, morpho-technological attributes, and taphonomy, has provided relevant information to reflect about the different life-stages superposed on this object. The multilevel stories related to this wooden bowl are related to its production, use and charring during Iron Age, its excavation, study, former publication, and museum storage, and finally its analysis and the process of experimentation that closes the circle again providing clues related to its production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amplifying Radiocarbon Dates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caroline Anne Phillips, independent researcher, New Zealand<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In locations with few datable samples and short-term cultural change, making the most out of the rare radiocarbon dates is a necessity. In Waiariki-ki-Tai, on the north-east coast of Aotearoa\/New Zealand, M\u0101ori used timber from trees killed by the 1314AD Kaharoa eruption for cooking and construction over several hundred years. Consequently, these timbers cannot be used for radiocarbon dating. Instead, short-lived shrubs and herbs incorporated into the soil during times of burning have to be selected. Datable material was chosen from overlapping features relating to different phases of occupation associated with slash-and-burn cultivation. Dates from stratigraphic sequences suggest periods of 25-40 years occurred between each phase of gardening. Therefore, each date has a phase attached: a date of phase two in an area with up to four phases means that there was at least one phase before and two after the dated sample. This paper explores how to make the most of this information in order to estimate dates of phases without radiocarbon samples and phases where the radiocarbon curve flattens out. The aim is to discover the progression of the extensive kumara cultivation, and the results suggest that gardening occurred in the coastal areas over a hundred years, but continued inland for a further hundred years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Insights into Plant Use and Environmental Dynamics in Lower Paran\u00e1 River: Phytolith Analysis of La Calavera Archeological Site (Argentina)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mar\u00eda de los Milagros Colobig <\/sup>and Priscila Azzolina, Laboratorio de Arqueolog\u00eda, CICYTTP (CONICET\/Prov. E.R.\/UADER), Argentina<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mariano Bonomo, CONICET-Divisi\u00f3n Arqueolog\u00eda, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Museo de La Plata, Argentina<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The origin and spread of agriculture were transformative processes that reshaped both human societies and ecological history worldwide. Indigenous populations settled to protect and cultivate useful plants that were transformed into house gardens. These processes were difficult to detect through direct evidence in subtropical environments. However, phytolith analysis provides an important tool to the interpretation. In South American lowlands, there are land structures called \u201ccerritos\u201d that were multifunctional spaces where horticulture took place. The settlements corresponds to the Goya-Malabrigo entity, associated with the canoe people of the Paran\u00e1 River, dating between 2400 and 300 BP, with archaeological materials including pottery, charcoal, and faunal bone fragments. This presentation introduces the results of phytolith analysis from sediments at the La Calavera archaeological site (Isla El Pantanoso, Lower Paran\u00e1 River, Argentina). La Calavera is a \u201ccerrito\u201d with plant management evidence. Phytolith analysis revealed a diverse assemblage, with morphotypes identified from Poaceae subfamilies, Arecaceae, Podostemaceae, and Dicotyledoneae. The presence of Zea mays<\/em> (Cross) and Cucurbitaceae (Dicotyledoneae) alongside Oryzoideae (Double-Picked) suggests a mixed plant economy, combining cultivated and wild resources, as observed in other regional sites. Variations in water-related indicators further highlight the site’s exposure to periodic flooding, reinforcing the dynamic nature of this landscape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Format: Paper presentations with discussion Convenors:  Raquel Piqu\u00e9 Dept. of Prehistory, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) Bellaterra, Spainraquel.pique@uab.cat Rosa M. Albert Dept. of Prehistory, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) Bellaterra, Spain; ICREA (Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies) Barcelona, Spain)RosaMaria.Albert@uab.cat  Anna FranchCentro Austral de Investigaciones Cient\u00edficas (CADIC-CONICET), Ushuaia, Argentinaanna.franch5@gmail.com This session will explore the often-overlooked role […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1157,"featured_media":276,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-6913","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"pmpro-has-access","7":"czr-hentry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6913"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8928,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6913\/revisions\/8928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}