A microhistological reference collection for the past human-plant interaction from Patagonia Argentina

CIAMPAGNA M. L.; BORRELLI LAURA; LÓPEZ MARÍA LAURA; AYLEN CAPPARELLI

Workshop; International Workgroup for Paleoethnobotany; 2025

The archaeobotanical studies in Argentinian Patagonia contribute to understanding the diversehuman-plant interactions. Due to the preservation conditions or different biases, charcoal has beenthe most studied evidence while seeds and fruits were analysed in second place. The plant microrrest studies have increased in ceramic fragments, grounding tools, and dental tartar in recent years. This poster presents the taxonomic identification of plant microrrest recovered in grounding tools from the late Holocene archaeological sites from the northern coast of the Santa Cruz province. Prospidastrum globosum and Neltuma sp. were identified. For that taxonomic resolution, we used an epidemical tissue (pattern) from the INTA-Bariloche reference collection. In parallel, we made a phytoliths collection and used the GIADAA (Grupo de Investigaciones Arqueobotánicas de la Diagonal AÁ rida Argentina) starch grain reference collection. Through the microhistological technique and using an optical microscope, the diagnostic characteristics of the epidermal tissues of 56 plant species belonging to 29 families of the Patagonian Andean forest and shrub steppe were analyzed and recorded. Additionally, a sample of these specimens was studied to obtain and describe phytoliths following Dry-ashing methodology and standard nomenclature.