... Patti J. Wright, Ph.D., RPA Anthropology Department, University of Missouh-St. Louis, One Uni... more ... Patti J. Wright, Ph.D., RPA Anthropology Department, University of Missouh-St. Louis, One University Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63121. Email: pjwright@umsl.edu Research Office, Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89107; Patti.Wright@springspreserve.org ...
The lower 200 km of the Missouri River basin provides an interesting case for examining crop sele... more The lower 200 km of the Missouri River basin provides an interesting case for examining crop selection strategies and cropping systems. Between cal A.D. 650 and 1200, so-called Late Woodland and Mississippian populations occupied the Missouri River floodplain and tributary valleys. Multiple lines of evidence, including crop selection, show considerable interaction between central and eastern Missouri populations, and boundaries between these areas are more tenuous and permeable than had once been interpreted. In this study, we assess intersite variability in the presence of starchy seeds and maize for eleven sites. We explore ecological and cultural variables affecting the decision to adopt maize cultivation at some sites and to continue to rely on members of the starchy-seed complex at others.
This chapter summarizes the current perspectives on paleoethnobotany, and the methods and techniq... more 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).
When analyzing sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) remains, which are often carbonized, archaeobotan... more When analyzing sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) remains, which are often carbonized, archaeobotanists commonly differentiate between wild and domesticated achenes and seeds based on the measured length (L) and width (W) or the calculated index L*W. Carbonization reduces the dimensions. To compensate for these reductions, archaeobotanists use a single correction factor proposed by Richard Yarnell (1978) for all cases. The use of a single correction factor can bias the reconstructed dimensions as carbonization is a highly variable process. The current study determines the relationship between carbonization and the dimensions of length and width. Measurements established that a decrease of 2.5-22.5% in achene length and 10-29% in achene width can occur, depending on temperature, heating rate, and variety. For seeds, temperature is of most importance, and shrinkage ranges from 0-27% for the length and from 0-20% for the width. These ranges make the use of a single correction factor problematic. A method is developed in which reflectance (an optical property applied in coal technology to determine coal rank) is used to measure the carbonization temperature, and in turn the shrinkage can be calculated. Subsequently, correction factors are calculated to reconstruct the original length and width. When applied to an assemblage of carbonized sunflower achenes, the newly developed method shows that the Yarnell single correction factor may bias the dimensions towards classifications of “wild” or “ruderal” forms of sunflower
... Patti J. Wright, Ph.D., RPA Anthropology Department, University of Missouh-St. Louis, One Uni... more ... Patti J. Wright, Ph.D., RPA Anthropology Department, University of Missouh-St. Louis, One University Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63121. Email: pjwright@umsl.edu Research Office, Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89107; Patti.Wright@springspreserve.org ...
The lower 200 km of the Missouri River basin provides an interesting case for examining crop sele... more The lower 200 km of the Missouri River basin provides an interesting case for examining crop selection strategies and cropping systems. Between cal A.D. 650 and 1200, so-called Late Woodland and Mississippian populations occupied the Missouri River floodplain and tributary valleys. Multiple lines of evidence, including crop selection, show considerable interaction between central and eastern Missouri populations, and boundaries between these areas are more tenuous and permeable than had once been interpreted. In this study, we assess intersite variability in the presence of starchy seeds and maize for eleven sites. We explore ecological and cultural variables affecting the decision to adopt maize cultivation at some sites and to continue to rely on members of the starchy-seed complex at others.
This chapter summarizes the current perspectives on paleoethnobotany, and the methods and techniq... more 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).
When analyzing sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) remains, which are often carbonized, archaeobotan... more When analyzing sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) remains, which are often carbonized, archaeobotanists commonly differentiate between wild and domesticated achenes and seeds based on the measured length (L) and width (W) or the calculated index L*W. Carbonization reduces the dimensions. To compensate for these reductions, archaeobotanists use a single correction factor proposed by Richard Yarnell (1978) for all cases. The use of a single correction factor can bias the reconstructed dimensions as carbonization is a highly variable process. The current study determines the relationship between carbonization and the dimensions of length and width. Measurements established that a decrease of 2.5-22.5% in achene length and 10-29% in achene width can occur, depending on temperature, heating rate, and variety. For seeds, temperature is of most importance, and shrinkage ranges from 0-27% for the length and from 0-20% for the width. These ranges make the use of a single correction factor problematic. A method is developed in which reflectance (an optical property applied in coal technology to determine coal rank) is used to measure the carbonization temperature, and in turn the shrinkage can be calculated. Subsequently, correction factors are calculated to reconstruct the original length and width. When applied to an assemblage of carbonized sunflower achenes, the newly developed method shows that the Yarnell single correction factor may bias the dimensions towards classifications of “wild” or “ruderal” forms of sunflower
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Papers by Patti Wright
of evidence, including crop selection, show considerable interaction between central and eastern Missouri populations, and boundaries between these areas are more tenuous and permeable than had once been interpreted. In this study, we assess intersite variability in the presence of starchy seeds and maize for eleven sites. We explore ecological and cultural variables affecting the decision to adopt maize cultivation at some sites and to continue to rely on members of the starchy-seed complex at others.
of evidence, including crop selection, show considerable interaction between central and eastern Missouri populations, and boundaries between these areas are more tenuous and permeable than had once been interpreted. In this study, we assess intersite variability in the presence of starchy seeds and maize for eleven sites. We explore ecological and cultural variables affecting the decision to adopt maize cultivation at some sites and to continue to rely on members of the starchy-seed complex at others.