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The Botanical Identification of Archaeological Cotton

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

S. G. Stephens
S. G. Stephens*
Affiliation:
Department of Genetics, North Carolina State University
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Abstract

Cotton plant parts recovered from archaeological sites usually consist of cordage and textile fragments, raw cotton, boll segments, and seeds. All of these can be readily identified as cotton, but much less easily as particular species of cotton. Some possibilities for obtaining a more precise botanical identification are presented. Peduncles (i.e., the stalks to which the bolls are attached in living material) might be particularly useful for identification purposes.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 35 , Issue 3 , July 1970 , pp. 367 - 373
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1970

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