Multiple Microfossil Extraction in Environmental Archaeology

KORSTANJE, MARÍA ALEJANDRA

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology

Springer Ed.

Año: 2012;

“Microfossils” are defined as those biogenic particles invisible to the naked eye and deposited in any type of soil or sediment context (Coil et al. 2003, 991). These regularly includes ancient silica phytoliths, diatoms, faunal spherulites, starch granules; calcium oxalates, cellulose rings, cryophytes and micro-charcoal, but any other micro particle that is an organism itself or part of one may be also included. It recognizes it’s origins on phytoliths studies (since Pearsal 19778, Piperno 1988 and many others), but includes other microfossils in the same importance level since the development of a low chemical extraction procedure allowed to conserve most of them. Laboratory procedures for obtaining as many types of microfossils as possible in one single extraction have been explored (Coil et al. 2001, Korstanje 2003, 2004) and conformed what we today is called “multiple microfossil analysis” (Korstanje 2009). The idea of obtaining the microfossil assemblages together from the same extraction has the benefit to run a high number of samples without the specifics required for each type of microfossil. This idea also circumvents complicated taxonomic skills and interpretations which usually require qualified experts for each of kind of microfossil. To answer some research questions this kind of sophistication is not necessary, and requires huge extra hours-work running samples for each specific type, in a processes already known to be time consuming. Conversely, for human perception skills, the possibility of having most types together in the same slide gives the researcher an instant idea about the microfossil assemblages and patterns that might differentiate, for instance, a corral structure from a terrace one. Finally, the protocol used for multiple extractions does not imply sophisticated laboratory conditions, and its use has provided interesting results regarding the recovery of microfossil assemblages. Since this methodology started to be used, many scholars in South America and other parts of the world have been improving it, especially for agricultural soils; cattle management; environmental issues; food production, manipulation and processing, and artifact use in archaeology.