Pollen, phytolith and starch analyses of dryland soils from Easter Island (Rapa Nui) show widespread vegetation clearance and Polynesian-introduced crops
| Autor: | D. Feek, Troy Baisden, Tahira Edmunds Gorman, John Flenley, Sonia Haoa-Cardinali, Lilian González Nualart, Charles Love, Mark Horrocks |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
010506 paleontology
060102 archaeology biology Paleontology 06 humanities and the arts Arecaceae Vegetation Broussonetia biology.organism_classification medicine.disease_cause 01 natural sciences Colocasia esculenta Phytolith Pollen Botany medicine 0601 history and archaeology Poaceae Cyperaceae 0105 earth and related environmental sciences |
| Zdroj: | Palynology. 41:339-350 |
| ISSN: | 1558-9188 0191-6122 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/01916122.2016.1204566 |
| Popis: | To investigate the extent of ancient agriculture on Easter Island, this study examines pollen, phytoliths and starch preserved in dryland soils at 11 sites across the island. Taxa are variably represented by different types of microfossils, with Arecaceae and Poaceae over-represented, and dicotyledons, Cyperaceae and ferns under-represented. Phytoliths show better preservation than pollen. The identification of four Polynesian-introduced cultigens, at seven sites, provides botanical evidence for island-wide horticulture. The cultigens identified, Broussonetia papyrifera, Colocasia esculenta, Ipomoea batatas and Musa sp., have differential representation in microfossil spectra, partly because of variable production of microfossil types and amounts, which could give a false impression of the importance of past species. The identification of phenolic inclusions represents a new microfossil type for C. esculenta. Large differences in microfossil proportions at one of the two high-altitude sites compar... |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|