NDLI: The contribution of ethnobotany and experimental archaeology to interpretation of ancient food processing: methodological proposals based on the discussion of several case studies on Prosopis spp., Chenopodium spp. and Cucurbita spp. from Argentina

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Capparelli, Aylen Pochetti, María Lelia Lema, Veronica López, María Laura Andreoni, Diego Ciampagna, María Laura Lla, Carina
Copyright Year	2014
Abstract	The purpose of this paper is to discuss recent methodological advances in Argentinean archaeobotany that incorporate the use of ethnobotany as an ethnoarchaeological tool for interpreting ancient food systems in South America. This is an integrative paper that takes into account both published and unpublished results. The role of ethnobotany is examined with reference to ethnobotanical and experimental food processing studies on Prosopis, a wild food plant, and two cultivated ones Chenopodium quinoa and Cucurbita spp., followed by laboratory examinations with microscopy to identify diagnostic changes in plant morphology and anatomy. Experimental materials are then compared with archaeological specimens to identify different types of ancient food processing, and to make inferences about prehistoric post-harvest systems. We demonstrated that: (a) it was critical for our food processing studies to achieve the best taxonomical identification resolution that the plant remains allow; (b) a multi-proxy approach was highly advantageous; (c) ethnobotanical data were crucial to identify food processing pathways of individual plants and combinations of them; (d) the understanding of commensality in the wider sense of the term allows us to determine food patterns both in domestic and funerary contexts. These investigations, the first ones of this type in Argentina, constitute a qualitative step in the methodology for this country because they expand our abilities to interpret the nature of routine plant processing from archaeobotanical assemblages, and they are also a substantial contribution to the development of our discipline in general because the taxa discussed in this paper are distributed throughout South America, as well as in other parts of the world.
Starting Page	151
Ending Page	163
Page Count	13
File Format	PDF
ISSN	09396314
Journal	Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
Volume Number	24
Issue Number	1
e-ISSN	16176278
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Publisher Date	2014-11-01
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Argentina Archaeobotany Ethnobotany Experimental studies Food processing Paleontology Biogeosciences Climate Change Anthropology Archaeology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Plant Science Archeology (arts and humanities) Paleontology

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