Botany and Microscopy ANTH 3095/5305 section 5 Beach Hall Room 453 Saturday (March 24th) – Sunday (March 25th) 9am–5 pm. |
Phytoliths and starch grains are microscopic plant remains that can survive for millions of years. The durability of these microscopic plant remains, along with the ability to identify them to the species level, allows researchers to answer questions relating to both modern and ancient plants. This course will provide an introduction to the taxonomy of identifiable plant remains (seed; stem; fruit), the extraction and analysis of phytoliths and starch grains, and how they are used to answer archaeological and forensic questions. The lab component will include an introduction to basic optical microscopy as well as an introduction to phytolith and starch grain extraction from archaeological contexts and modern plant comparative samples.
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