Archaeobotany
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Introduction
In the research group for archaeobotany we are dealing with the investigation of macrobotanical remains from Slovenian archaeological sites, i.e.: waterlogged wood, charcoal and other botanical macroremains, mostly: seeds, fruits and cereal chaffs.
Uncharred remains of other vegetative plant parts, such as stems, leaves, needles, rhizomes, and mosses, may also be preserved in waterlogged archaeological sediments. They may all be the subject of archaeobotanical research.
Finds of coprolites or excrement from domestic animals as well as from humans are of particular importance. Their analysis provides information about the feeding habits and indirectly about the surrounding vegetation and the season in which the animals grazed.
The main aim of archaeobotanical investigations is to give information about nutrition and plant economy of the researched archaeological site. When the remains are preserved, an information about the environment can be obtained, as well.
Finds of organic (mainly plant) macroremains of terrestrial organisms from archaeological sites are a very suitable object for dating the cultural layer with the 14C radioisotope method.
Dendrochronology, a special science within archaeobotany, deals with the study of wood. The main goal is to study the width of the annual rings. The results can provide a fairly accurate dating of the archaeological wood used in the period of settlement.
Secondary dendrochronological research can also provide information about the past climate.
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