Biosilicate analysis of residue in Maya dedicatory cache vessels from Blue Creek, Belize

The floating gardens of Chan Cahal: Soils, water, and human interactions

“…49, a Late Preclassic dedicatory cache including lip-tolip and nested Sierra Red bowls, a single Jute shell, 3 "hamburger" stones, and 5 jade bead fragments marked the initiation of the occupation. Bozarth and Guderjan (2004) also reported sponges from such caches at Blue Creek and that this arrangement represents a symbolic model of the Maya cosmos at creation.…”

Identifying crop plants with phytoliths (and starch grains) in Central and South America: A review and an update of the evidence

“…Following the literature from the early days of phytolith activity in paleoethnobotany to the present, it can be seen how identifrcation criteria have developed and evolved•from Pearsall's (1978) original use of broad size categories (e.g., small, large, extralarge) to identify maize leaves with cross-shaped phjrtoliths; to the development of more precise size and shape criteria for these cross-body forms (Pipemo 1984;Pearsall and Piperno 1990); to use of robust statistical approaches in cross-shaped phytolith identification (e.g., friarte MulhoUand 2003;Pipemo 1988; to the widespread recognition of maize cob phytoliths (e.g., Bozarth 1993a, Bozarth andGuderjan 2004;friarte 2003bMulhoUand 2003), and finally, incorporation of starch grain data. The latter allows the generation of two independent lines of empirical data, providing evidence-often from the same plant processing stone tools or ceramic cooking vessels• for the presence of two different parts of the same, consumed structure of the plant, its kernels and chaff (glumes/cupules) (see Dickau et al, 2007;Iriarte et al 2004;Perry et al 2006Perry et al , 2007Pearsall et al 2003, Pipemo et al 2000.…”

“…MuhoUand (1993), Bozarth (1993a,b), Bozarth and Guderjan (2004), Iriarte (2003a, b ;, Pearsall (1978;, the author (Pipemo 1988(Pipemo ,2006a Pearsall 1993,1998a), and others have studied maize leaf and cob phytoliths and compared them against phytoliths from large collections of wild grasses. As near as the author can count, over 500 wild species that could conceivably contribute phytolith types used to identify maize and more than 40 races of maize have been analyzed.…”

“…In North America and in lowland Central and South America there have been, as mentioned, extensive comparisons of maize cob phytoliths with those fi-om wild grasses by different researchers and a consensus has developed regarding maize identification (e.g., Bozarth 1993; Bozarth and Guderjan 2004;Boyd et al 2006;Iriarte 2003Iriarte , et al 2004Pearsall et al 2003;Pipemo and Pearsall 199a). What are called wavy-top rondels (Bozarth 1993) appear to be diagnostic of maize (Fig.…”

El análisis composicional en el estudio de la producción y distribución de la cerámica prehispánica

“…Los fitolitos y otros biosilicatos preservados en el residuo orgánico de las vasijas pueden permitir identificar maíz, calabaza, mate, palma, etc. mediante el microscopio óptico y el microscopio electrónico de barrido (Staller & Thompson, 2002;Bozarth & Guderjan, 2004). Finalmente, el análisis químico de los residuos orgánicos es también prometedor (Cackette et al, 1987;Regert et al, 2003), aunque ha sido considerado incierto para elementos como el fósforo (Dunnell & Hunt, 1990).…”