Recovering Plant Microfossils from Archaeological and other Palaeoenvironmental Deposits: A Practical Guide Developed from Pacific Region Experience

Abstract

Presented are revised procedures for recovering pollen and spores, phytoliths, and starch and other plant material from archaeological and other palaeoenvironmental deposits for microscopic analysis. The procedures are based on lengthy experience of preparing numerous samples of deposits from Malesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. The procedures are designed as a simple laboratory guide, outlined in detail and summarized to provide a practical, time-efficient, step-by-step method. The method has been carried out successfully on many types of soils and other deposits from Pacific Islands, including: clays, silts, and sands; waterlogged, porous, peaty, volcanic, and coralline soils; and sediment cores, tools, pot sherds, dental calculus, and coprolites from a range of environmental settings in tropical, sub-tropical, and temperate climates. Also included in the procedures are mounting recovered microfossils on microscope slides and preparing and mounting modern reference samples.