archaeobotanical

Archaeobotanical, or archaeobotany, is the study of plant remains from archaeological contexts to understand past human-plant relationships. The discipline integrates botany, archaeology, and paleoenvironmental science to reconstruct how people used plants, what crops were cultivated, and how plant resources shaped economies, diets, and landscapes.

Plant remains are broadly categorized as macro-remains (seeds, fruits, charcoal, wood) and micro-remains (pollen, phytoliths, starch grains). Recovering these materials commonly involves flotation and sieving during excavation, followed by laboratory analysis using microscopy, radiocarbon dating, and residue analysis. Interpreting associations with features such as hearths, storage pits, or human dwellings helps situate plants within past lifeways and environments.

Archaeobotanical research aims to identify species present, distinguish cultivated from wild taxa, and trace domestication processes. It seeks to reconstruct past diets and culinary practices, agricultural strategies, land use, and climate impacts. The field also explores plant trade, exchange networks, technological uses of plants, and landscape management across different regions and time periods.

History and methods: the discipline emerged and matured through collaboration between archaeologists and botanists in the 20th century, with methodological advances such as flotation transforming recovery of plant remains and the expansion to micro-botanical analyses and molecular techniques in recent decades.

Significance: archaeobotany provides crucial insights into the origins and diffusion of agriculture, economic systems, and environmental change, contributing to broader understandings of human–plant interactions in the ancient world.