Acknowledgments | p. ix |
Introduction: With a Short History of Phytolith Research | p. 1 |
The Production, Deposition, and Dissolution of Phytoliths | p. 5 |
The Development of Phytoliths in Plants | p. 5 |
Summary: How Plants Make Phytoliths | p. 12 |
Why Plants Make Phytoliths | p. 12 |
Chemical and Physical Characteristics of Phytoliths | p. 15 |
The Occurrence of Phytoliths in the Plant Kingdom | p. 15 |
Mechanisms of Phytolith Deposition into Soils and Sediments | p. 21 |
Phytolith Preservation in Various Depositional Contexts | p. 21 |
Phytolith Morphology | p. 23 |
Some Fundamental Aspects of Phytolith Morphology | p. 24 |
The Major Classes of Phytoliths: Introduction | p. 27 |
Phytoliths in the Poaceae | p. 27 |
Phytolith Morphology in Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, and Angiosperms | p. 35 |
Eudicots | p. 39 |
Phytoliths in Fruits and Seeds | p. 41 |
Phytoliths in Wood | p. 41 |
Less Useful Types of Phytoliths | p. 42 |
Summary of Phytolith Taxonomic and Ecological Significance | p. 43 |
Phytoliths in Domesticated Plants and Their Wild Ancestors | p. 45 |
Maize (Zea mays) and Teosinte (Zea mays subsp. parviglumis) | p. 45 |
Squashes and Gourds of Cucurbita and Other Domesticated Cucurbitaceae | p. 65 |
Maranta arundinacea and Calathea allouia (Arrowroot and Liren) | p. 71 |
Oryza sativa (Rice) | p. 72 |
Musa spp. (Bananas and Plantains) and Ensete (Enset, Abyssinian or Ethiopian Banana) | p. 74 |
Wheat (Triticum monococcum, T. dicoccum, and T. aestivum) and Barley (Hordeum vulgare) | p. 76 |
Summary of Phytolith Analysis in Crop Plant Identification and Prospects for Future Research | p. 78 |
Field Techniques and Research Design | p. 81 |
Sampling Archaeological Sites | p. 81 |
Sampling Lakes, Swamps, and Other Sites for Paleoecological Studies | p. 84 |
Modern Controls on Sampling | p. 86 |
Modern Vegetation and Soil Studies | p. 87 |
Laboratory Techniques | p. 89 |
The Phytolith Laboratory | p. 89 |
Techniques for Extracting Phytoliths from Soils | p. 90 |
Methods of Phytolith Isolation for Carbon-14 and Stable Isotope Study | p. 93 |
Separating Phytoliths, Pollen, Diatoms, and Microscopic Charcoal Simultaneously and Recovering Starch Granules | p. 95 |
Extraction of Phytoliths from Modern Plants | p. 97 |
Preparation of Archaeological Ash Samples (Spodograms) | p. 98 |
Extraction of Starch Grains from Modern Plants | p. 98 |
The Isolation of Phytoliths and Starch Grains from Artifacts and Dental Remains | p. 98 |
Other Techniques of Phytolith Study | p. 100 |
Phytolith Staining | p. 101 |
Microscope Techniques | p. 101 |
Documentation of Phytoliths and Long-Term Curation of Photographs and Images | p. 102 |
The Interpretation of Phytolith Assemblages: Method and Theory | p. 103 |
The Formation and Interpretation of Archaeological and Paleoecological Phytolith Assemblages | p. 103 |
Data Handling and Presentation | p. 115 |
New Approaches in Phytolith Analysis | p. 125 |
The Analysis and Interpretation of Particulate Charcoal and Charred Phytoliths Occurring in Phytolith Preparations | p. 134 |
The Role of Phytoliths in Archaeological Reconstruction | p. 139 |
Studying Prehistoric Plant Subsistence, Agriculture, and Agricultural Technology with Phytoliths | p. 140 |
Phytoliths, Dental Remains, and Diet | p. 163 |
Phytoliths, Stone Tool Function, and Diet | p. 163 |
Phytoliths in Pottery | p. 164 |
The Role of Phytoliths in Paleoecology | p. 165 |
Phytoliths and Paleolimnology | p. 165 |
Peat Bogs | p. 175 |
Terrestrial Soils and Sediments | p. 175 |
Phytoliths in Deep (Pre-Quaternary) Time | p. 183 |
Phytoliths in Deep-Sea Cores | p. 184 |
The Future Potential of Phytolith Analysis | p. 185 |
Phytolith Photographs and Illustrations with Their Explanations | p. 187 |
References | p. 211 |
Index | p. 229 |
About the Author | p. 238 |
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |