Rapid phytolith extraction for analysis of phytolith concentrations and assemblages during an excavation: an application at Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel

Katz, Ofir; Cabanes, Dan; Weiner, Stephen; Maeir, Aren M.; Boaretto, Elisabetta; Shahack‐Gross, Ruth

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.01.016

Cited by 143 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The modern dung samples were then burnt in an oven at 550°C for 4 hours to remove organic matter and c.100-200 mg was mounted onto a glass slide. The spherulites and phytoliths were then counted and quantified in 20 fields of view at a magnification of ×400 following a methodology similar to Katz et al (2010). The numbers and types of spherulites and phytoliths could then be related back to species and comparisons made between datasets.…”

Section: Dung Sampling and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary ethnoarchaeological research on modern animal husbandry in Bestansur, Iraqi Kurdistan: Integrating animal, plant and environmental data

Elliott

Bendrey

Whitlam

et al. 2014

Environmental Archaeology

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This paper presents preliminary results from an ethnoarchaeological study of animal husbandry in the modern village of Bestansur, situated in the lower Zagros Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. This research explores how modern families use and manage their livestock within the local landscape and identifies traces of this use. The aim is to provide the groundwork for future archaeological investigations focusing on the nearby Neolithic site of Bestansur. This is based on the premise that modern behaviours can suggest testable patterns for past practices within the same functional and ecological domains. Semistructured interviews conducted with villagers from several households provided large amounts of information on modern behaviours that helped direct data collection, and which also illustrate notable shifts in practices and use of the local landscape over time. Strontium isotope analysis of modern plant material demonstrates that a measurable variation exists between the alluvial floodplain and the lower foothills, while analysis of modern dung samples shows clear variation between sheep/goat and cow dung, in terms of numbers of faecal spherulites. These results are specific to the local environment of Bestansur and can be used for evaluating and contextualising archaeological evidence as well as providing modern reference material for comparative purposes.

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Section: Dung Sampling and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary ethnoarchaeological research on modern animal husbandry in Bestansur, Iraqi Kurdistan: Integrating animal, plant and environmental data

Elliott

Bendrey

Whitlam

et al. 2014

Environmental Archaeology

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“…The phytolith extraction method was performed according to the protocol described in Katz et al (2010). The following report was undertaken under the guidance of M. Portillo at the Free University Geoscience Laboratories, using her protocol form described in Portillo et al (2013: 208-209).…”

Section: Phytolith Processing Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant use from the grinding stones’ viewpoint: Phytolith analyses from Aeneolithic Monjukli Depe, Turkmenistan

Öğüt

2016

JLS

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Abstract:Recent archaeological examinations include an increasing amount of natural science analyses. They are often carried out by external specialists and their results are often accepted by archaeologists without question. This may lead to incomplete integration of the results into an archaeological context. One of those methods, increasingly employed in the field of archaeology, is phytolith analysis. Phytoliths, microscopic silica bodies from genera-specific plant cells, allow searching for traces of plant material in archaeological contexts where methods based on macroscopic analysis have reached their limits. This paper combines natural science approaches with archaeological data by examining the social life of artefacts via phytolith analyses that can provide data to precisely determine the interpretation and variety of grinding stones, which are often misinterpreted. In this pilot study, the analyses confirmed the macroscopic observations for grinding plant material in some cases, but also opened new areas of study such as mineral-related activities, possible use of wooden implements and the connection between the different archaeological and botanical information. The analysed objects are grinding stones from Monjukli Depe, a small village in modern southern Turkmenistan that was occupied in the Neolithic and Aeneolithic periods. The site was excavated in the 1960s by Soviet archaeologists and restudied since 2010 by a team from the Free University Berlin.

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“…The analytical methods used were aimed at understanding the depositional mode of the surface, its preservation and degree of bioturbation, and for tracing possible signals of anthropogenic activity (Boaretto 2007(Boaretto , 2009Weiner 2010). The indicators used are phosphate content, phytolith morphology, heat-altered sediments, and formation processes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Phytolith concentrations in the sediments were determined during and after the excavation using the method of Katz et al (2010). Again, samples (n = 4) were chosen among the sediments collected for FTIR spectrometry.…”

Section: Phytolith Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Contexts for Radiocarbon Dating: Results from the Early Iron Age at Tell Es-Safi/Gath, Israel

2012

Self Cite

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ABSTRACT. The reliability of a radiocarbon date depends in part on the degree of precision and accuracy of the measurement. While analytical precision and accuracy can be improved by careful sample cleaning procedures and high laboratory standards, accuracy also depends upon the certainty to which the sample can be attributed to a specific material culture or event in the past. This might be questionable when based only on partial archaeological information. As a consequence, it is very difficult to date clear-cut chronological transitions within specific periods. This issue is particularly apparent in the case of Mediterranean Iron Age chronology, where 2 somewhat different perspectives are proposed, the "High Chronology" and the "Low Chronology," which differ by ~50 yr. Here, we present the preliminary results of an ongoing project that aims to characterize Iron Age archaeological contexts from the eastern Mediterranean, and to identify those contexts that are suitable for dating, in order to improve the accuracy of 14 C dates. This study involves the analysis of sediments by means of FTIR spectrometry, soil micromorphology, phytolith and phosphate extraction, all of which provide insights into the site-formation and postdepositional processes at the different sites under investigation. These techniques, applied at Tell es-Safi/Gath (Israel), enabled us to better identify a secure context for dating.

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Rapid phytolith extraction for analysis of phytolith concentrations and assemblages during an excavation: an application at Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel

Cited by 143 publications

References 13 publications

Preliminary ethnoarchaeological research on modern animal husbandry in Bestansur, Iraqi Kurdistan: Integrating animal, plant and environmental data

Preliminary ethnoarchaeological research on modern animal husbandry in Bestansur, Iraqi Kurdistan: Integrating animal, plant and environmental data

Plant use from the grinding stones’ viewpoint: Phytolith analyses from Aeneolithic Monjukli Depe, Turkmenistan

Characterization of Contexts for Radiocarbon Dating: Results from the Early Iron Age at Tell Es-Safi/Gath, Israel

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