Leading Phytolith Research Hubs in South America

Leading Phytolith Research Hubs in South America

After an informal survey questionnaire with colleagues from South American countries such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay, we obtained some data that allows us to gain an understanding of the leading phytolith researchers and laboratories across the region as well as key locations where phytolith research is conducted. Statistics presented in this report are based on responses from these labs.

Among the 10 laboratories that responded to the questionnaire, we notice that over 70% of phytolith research is related to the field of archaeology, followed by paleoenvironmental, botanical and geological studies. These studies are carried out not only to meet academic demands, but also for governments or private companies as stated by 50% of the laboratories.

Most laboratories have made technical and protocol adaptations for phytolith analysis, especially for phytolith extraction from soils and sediments, considering the specificities of each region/country. This was necessary to cater to of environmental particularities and/or to save laboratory resources, as highlighted by researcher Maria Gabriela Musaubach, from the Centro de Estudios e Investigciones Botánica (CEIBo) de la Universidad Nacional de Jujuy: “What we developed has to do with innovating in the face of the challenges presented by the different types of contexts to which the materials of the archaeological record analyzed belong. But, above all, because of the scarcity of our resources.”

The research teams dedicated to phytolith investigation are often small, formed by four researchers on average, but a positive aspect is that 90% of these laboratories offer courses on phytolith analysis, demonstrating the growing interest of applying this proxy in different studies.

Following, we present a brief summary of each of the laboratories/ researchers that made part of this report.

Alejandra Korstanje – Laboratorio de Arquebotánica
San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina

Alejandra Korstanje - Laboratorio de Arquebotánica San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina

The Laboratorio de Arquebotánica was created in 1995, initiated by Alejandra Korstanje, who began her postgraduate research there and has since been its responsable (ad honorem) on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology and Museum of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and IML-UNT (IAM). Starting in 2011, with the addition of technical staff, the purchase of equipment, building renovations, and equipment cleaning provided by CONICET, it became jointly dependent on the Institute of Social Studies (ISES CONICET-UNT).

Beyond the work of researchers, fellows, and advanced students, ISES oversees the work of two CPAs, Mónica Burgos and Julieta Zapatiel, who, in addition to offering general technical support, perform specific tasks for the High-Level Technological Services (STAN) for third parties.

The main lines of evidence on which work is conducted are archaeological, paleoethnobotanical, and archaeobotanical in nature: samples and analyses of microfossils from archaeological sites, archaeological and environmental research with an emphasis on pre-Hispanic agriculture, domestic plant uses, food processing, use of tools and grinding instruments, harvesting and cooking from residues.

The laboratory has two main work areas: processing and microscopy. In the processing area, led by Zapatiel, microfossils and substances from sediment samples, artifacts, and dental tartar are recovered. In the microscopy area, led by Burgos, various microfossils are analyzed and assigned to their taxa. The lab is well-equipped with advanced tools and houses phytolith libraries for consultation by researchers and students.

Heli Gaspar Morcote Rios – Instituto de Ciencias Naturales of Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Bogota, Cundinamarca, Colombia

Heli Gaspar Morcote Rios – Instituto de Ciencias Naturales of Universidad Nacional de Colombia Bogota, Cundinamarca, ColombiaThe phytolith study, led by the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, began in 2005, aimingexpand the knowledge about pre-Columbian history of human societies that lived in the Amazon rainforest, focusing on how they domesticated, dispersed, and concentrated plants, as well as how they adapted to this tropical biome. Since 2005 the laboratory is working on contemporary Amazonian phytoliths collection, along with the acquisition of laboratory equipment for processing both contemporary and archaeological phytoliths. Nowadays, the collection accounts with 1500 specimens almost exclusively from the Amazon. The most relevant taxonomic groups in the collection are palms, grasses and zingiberales. The following step is to make this collection virtually available for
consultation.

Alejandro Fabián Zucol – Laboratorio de Paleobotánica, CICYTTP-Diamante
CONICET
Diamante, Entre Ríos, Argentina

The Laboratorio de Paleobotánica was founded in 1998, focusing on paleobotanical studies of past floras in the Southern Cone (Cono Sur). Nowadays, there are eight researchers involved on phytolith investigation, covering the coastal and Pampean regions of Argentina as well as the patagonian region.

The laboratory is well equipped and offers training for phytolith analysis, and currently collaborates with several partners, especially Laboratorio deArqueología, Paleontologia de vertebrados (CICYTTP), CECOAL (UNL), IFEVA (UBA), Dep. Arqueología (UNLP).

María de los Milagros Colobig – Laboratorio de Arqueología (CICYTTP- CONICET- Gob.
ER- UADER)
Diamante, Entre Ríos, Argentina

María de los Milagros Colobig - Laboratorio de Arqueología (CICYTTP- CONICET- Gob. ER- UADER) Diamante, Entre Ríos, ArgentinaThe laboratory began to operate independently in 2016, however, archaeological and archaeobotanical research had already been conducted since 2006 in the Paleobotanical Laboratory (directed by Dr. Alejandro Zucol), which had already established links with the Archaeology team of the UNLP and the UNMdP. Alejandro Zucol), which has already established links with the Archaeology team of the UNLP and the UNMdP. Its focus is the study of archaeological occupations of pre-Hispanic societies in the paleoenvironmental context of the Uruguai and Paraná river basins during the Holocene. Specifically, aspects related to the functionality and chronology of the settlements; the environmental setting and paleoclimatic conditions; the exploitation and management of natural resources; the diet of these populations; and the variability of the technological systems generated by the indigenous groups that occupied the area in pre-Hispanic times are addressed.

Through interdisciplinary work, the Archaeology Laboratory connects with other institutions, UNLP, UNMdP, UNC- IDACOR, addressing archaeological and archaeobotanical issues in central-western Argentina.

Specifically, the analysis of plant microrests is carried out from the analysis of sediments in control profiles (Paleoenvironmental conditions) and in profiles and features of archaeological sites (to know the anthropic management of the environment). At the same time, they are analyzed in different supports such as ceramics and human dental tartar in order to identify uses linked to the preparations and diets of the populations.

Pilar Babot – Grupo La gente y las plantas en los desiertos de altura de Sudamérica en Argentina – Grupo de Investigación en Arqueología Andina- ARQAND, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e IML, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán & Centro Científico Tecnológico NOA Sur, CONICET.
San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina

The group has been documenting the relationships between plants and people in the high deserts of South America in Northwest Argentina since the late 1990’s. Their purpose is to complement ethnobotanical work with the building of reference collections and the study of the macro and microscopic archaeobotanical record of hunter-gatherers and agro-pastoralist societies (ca. 4500-1000 BP). The topics investigate are related to food archeology, domestication and management of quinoa and its relatives, management of woody fuels, and the role of master plants. Microfossils in use-residues, dental calculus and combustion residues are some of our study lines.

Laura Del Porto – Laboratorio de Micropaleoetnobotánica
Ciudad de Rocha, Rocha, Uruguay

Laboratory founded in 2013 with an interest in studying human-plant interrelationships in pre-colonial archaeological contexts, working mainly in the lowlands of eastern and southeastern Uruguay. It currently has 4 researchers dedicated to phytolith research.

Carolina Belmar – Laboratorio Arqueología, Departamento de Antropología, Universidad de Chile
Santiago, RM, Chile

Laura Del Porto - Laboratorio de Micropaleoetnobotánica Ciudad de Rocha, Rocha, UruguayThe laboratory is dedicated to phytolith research since 2010, seekingincorporate another line of evidence to study the human/plant relationship, considering the biases of differential conservation of botanical evidence andbe able to develop residue analysis. The research is mainly carried out in the Great North, Semi-Arid North, Central Zone and Chilean Patagonia, using multiple microfossils. It has 13 active researchers, most of whom are undergraduate students.

Maria Gabriela Musaubach e Héctor Arnaldo Sato
Centro de estudios e Investigciones Botánica (CEIBo) de la Universidad

Nacional de Jujuy
San Salvador de Jujuy, Jujuy, Argentina

Maria Gabriela Musaubach e Héctor Arnaldo Sato Centro de estudios e Investigciones Botánica (CEIBo) de la Universidad Nacional de Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy, Jujuy, ArgentinaMusaubach works with phytolith research since 2007, interested in plant remains of archaeological interest from contexts of hunter-gatherers and at sites where the preservation of macroremains is almost nonexistent. Phytoliths, along with starch grains, were the appropriate proxies to study the interactions between societies and
plants.

The studies are focused on plants of the native flora (e.g., Poaceae, Fabaceae) of Argentina, forming reference collections.Currently, the laboratory develops research on Andean crops and other associated plants, which are part of the biocultural heritage of Jujeño, within the South-Central Andes.

The team at CEIBo conducts analyses partnering with National Universities (UNLP, UNCuyo, UBA, and UNJu), and in collaboration with members of the Red ArqBot of Argentina. Additionally, Musaubach is a member of ICOPS at the IPS.
Musaubach teachs an undergraduate seminar at UNJu (Universidade Nacional de Jujuy), mentors’ students through internships and placements, andorganizing workshops, courses, and internships.

Dani Saghessi – Laboratorio Arqueología de Río Negro, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata

La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Maria Gabriela Musaubach e Héctor Arnaldo Sato Centro de estudios e Investigciones Botánica (CEIBo) de la Universidad Nacional de Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy, Jujuy, ArgentinaDevelops phytolith research since 2019, working with pre-Hispanic samples from hunter-gatherer groups (human dental tartar, ceramics, and milling artifacts) from eastern Argentine and Patagonia (province of Río Negro, Argentina).

Margarita Osterrieth, Mariana Fernandez Honaine and Natalia Borrelli Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata, Argentina

The study of phytoliths began in 1979 at the Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario (Institute of Geology of Coasts and the Quaternary) of the National University of Mar del Plata, Argentina, as part of studies in mineralogy, soil genesis and paleosols of the coastal sector of the Pampean Plains (Llanura Pampeana). These studies contributed to the paleobotanical and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Cenozoic era of the area.

Over the past 45 years, more than 50 undergraduate and postgraduate thesis and scholarships from both national and international students (from Spain, Brazil, Mexico, etc.) have been conducted and trained in the qualitative and quantitative
analysis of phytoliths in pedosedimentary andpedoarchaeological sequences.

Various lines of research have been generated: 1- Phytoliths. The process of silicification in plants and its relationship with systematics, anatomy, and environmental conditions, with special emphasis on grasslands, native and introduced plant communities. 2- Characterization of phytoliths and their role in the processes of genesis, degradation, taphonomy, and mineral chemistry of current and past soils and sediments. 3- Biogeochemistry of silicon in natural environments and wetlands. 4- The relationship between phytoliths, silicon, macro-micronutrients, and heavy metals in representative agroecosystems of the Pampean plain; as well as phytoliths in the consumption cycle by cattle in pastures. 5- Analysis of phytoliths in plant communities and in Pleistocene and Holocene coprolites of herbivorous mammals and extinct megafauna, in collaboration with archaeological studies of the Puna and Patagonia, among others.

More than 160 papers have been published in national and international journals, and book chapters. More than 40 courses have been taught at various universities and research institutes in Argentina, Brazil, Spain, and Mexico. The 2nd Meeting of Phytolith Studies of the Southern Cone was organized in 2001; and the 7th International Meeting on Phytolith Research and the 4th Meeting of Phytolith Studies of the Southern Cone in 2008. Currently, the group consists of 6 researchers, 3 postdoctoral fellows, 1 doctoral fellow, and interns who develop their projects, including phytolith studies in the earlier mentioned lines of work.

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