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Seeds in Archaeological Sites: Sources and Some Interpretive Problems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Paul E. Minnis
Paul E. Minnis*
Affiliation:
Maxwell Museum, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
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Abstract

Macroplant remains recovered during excavation and by flotation are an ambiguous record of prehistoric human/plant interactions. This paper attempts to clarify the relationship by considering natural and cultural processes affecting the archaeological survival of seeds recovered from sites. Also outlined are some characteristics of these botanical artifacts useful in distinguishing their source. In addition, brief comments are directed toward the problem of biases in the paleoethnobotanical record.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 46 , Issue 1 , January 1981 , pp. 143 - 152
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1981

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References

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