Přednáška | Disclosing the role of plants in prehistoric lifeways

Disclosing the role of plants in prehistoric lifeways through archaeological and bioarchaeological evidence

Andrea Zupancich (Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Tarragna, Spain)

19. únor, 14:10 

Přednáška proběhne hybridně – v knihovně ARÚ v Letenské 4, Praha, a online přes Zoom (https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/94266045064 | Passcode: 19022026).

Abstrakt:

Plants have played a significant role in our evolutionary path. In the last decade, studies have highlighted the importance of plants among ancient humans in terms of diet and lifestyle. Recent developments in archaeology, bioarchaeology, genetics, and palaeobotany allowed gathering new and highly detailed clues about plant exploitation in the past. This talk discusses current research and advances in the analysis of material culture (i.e. stone tools) and ancient human remains (i.e. dental calculus), demonstrating how the combination of archaeology and bioarchaeology allows gathering evidence on the species of consumed plants, their processing strategies, ancient recipes etc. Specifically, we will focus on functional studies (i.e. use wear and residue analyses) on ground stone tools, the introduction of quantitative methods, and the analysis of plant micro debris entrapped in ancient dental calculus. By discussing how different but, at the same time, strictly related strands of evidence allow us to reconstruct ancient lifeways, we underline the primary role played by plants among prehistoric human groups.