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Small-scale spatial resolution of the soil phytolith record in a rainforest and a dry forest in Costa Rica

  • May 6, 2019
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Crifò, C. and Strömberg, C.A., 2019. Small-scale spatial resolution of the soil phytolith record in a Neotropical rainforest and a dry forest in Costa Rica: applications to the deep-time fossil phytolith record. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.03.008 Our objective was to define guidelines for the collection of soil samples to conduct phytolith modern analogue studies […]

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Climate signal of soil phytolith assemblages from the Altay Mountains, Russia

  • May 6, 2019
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Solomonova, M.Y., Blinnikov, M.S., Silantyeva, M.M., Speranskaja, N.Y., 2019. Influence of moisture and temperature regimes on the phytolith assemblage composition of mountain ecosystems of the mid latitudes: a case study from the Altay Mountains. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 7, 2. dog: https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00002 Reconstruction of past ecosystems requires understanding of modern deposition patterns and taphonomy […]

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Neanderthal plant use and pyrotechnology

  • May 6, 2019
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Wroth, K., Cabanes, D., Marston, J.M., Aldeias, V., Sandgathe, D., Turq, A., Goldberg, P., Dibble, H.L., 2019. Neanderthal plant use and pyrotechnology: phytolith analysis from Roc de Marsal, France. Archaeol Anthropol Sci. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-019-00793-9 The plant component of Neanderthal subsistence and technology is not well documented in many regions, partially due to the preservation constraints […]

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Phytolith evidence of cereal processing in the Danube Delta

  • April 30, 2019
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Danu Mihaela, Messager Erwan, Carozza Jean-Michel, Carozza Laurent, Bouby Laurent,Philibert Sylvie, Anderson Patricia, Burens Albane,Micu Cristian, 2019. PPhytolith evidence of cereal processing in the Danube Delta during the Chalcolithic period. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2018.03.033   The paper presents the Eneolithic relationship between human and environment in a rarely researched area: the Danube Delta. Research was focused on […]

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Phytoliths and land-use changes in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia

  • April 30, 2019
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Arlene M. Rosen, Thomas C. Hart, Jennifer Farquhar, Joan S. Schneider, Tserendagva Yadmaa. 2019. Holocene Vegetation Cycles, Land-use, and Human Adaptations to Desertification in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-018-0710-y Desertification is an ongoing global problem in many localities worldwide. This is due in part to global warming, and drying […]

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Advances in morphometrics in archaeobotany

  • April 1, 2019
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Portillo, M., Ball, T.B., Wallace, M., Murphy, C., Pérez-Díaz, S., Ruiz-Alonso, M., Aceituno, F. J., López-Sáez, J. A. 2019. Advances in morphometrics in archaeobotany. Environmental Archaeology: the Journal of Human Palaeoecology. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2019.1569351 This paper reviews current methodologies, recent applications, and advances in the use of morphometrics for various types of plant remains, its applications […]

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Phytoliths in Paleoecology: A review !

  • November 21, 2018
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Caroline A. E. Strömberg, Regan E. Dunn, Camilla Crifò, and Elisha B. Harris. 2018. Chapter 12 – Phytoliths in Paleoecology: Analytical Considerations, Current Use, and Future Directions. D. A. Croft et al. (eds.), Methods in Paleoecology: Reconstructing Cenozoic Terrestrial Environments and Ecological Communities, Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94265-0_12 Although phytolith analysis is a standard tool […]

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grass short cell phytolith structure using micro-scale X-ray imaging IPS phytolith

When the carbon being dated is not what you think it is: Insights from phytolith carbon research

  • September 14, 2018
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Guaciara M. Santos, Armand Masion, Anne Alexandre, 2018. When the carbon being dated is not what you think it is: Insights from phytolith carbon research. Quaternary Science Reviews 197 (2018) 162-174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.08.007 During phytolith formation, a small amount of carbon (C) can become occluded in the siliceous structure (<1% of the phytolith dry weight). Since […]

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Phytoliths as an indicator of early modern humans plant gathering strategies, fire fuel and site occupation intensity during the Middle Stone Age at Pinnacle Point 5-6 (south coast, South Africa)

Esteban I, Marean CW, Fisher EC, Karkanas P, Cabanes D, Albert RM (2018) Phytoliths as an indicator of early modern humans plant gathering strategies, fire fuel and site occupation intensity during the Middle Stone Age at Pinnacle Point 5-6 (south coast, South Africa). PLoS ONE 13(6): e0198558. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0198558 This article provides insight on the foraging […]

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Subdecadal phytolith and charcoal records from Lake Malawi, East Africa imply minimal effects on human evolution from the ~74 ka Toba supereruption

Chad L. Yost, Lily J. Jackson, Jeffery R. Stone, Andrew S. Cohen, 2018. Journal of Human Evolution, v. 116, p. 75-94. Our study uses phytoliths and microcharcoal from lake sediments to determine the effects of the Indonesian Mount Toba supereruption at ~75 ka on the climate and vegetation of East Africa. We worked with sediment […]

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