Phytoliths - rigid microscopic bodies that occur in most plant species - have gone a long way since that day when Darwin became curious about a fine powder deposited on the instruments of the HMS Beagle. This fascinating subject started because of curiosity, and in that respect it was a good start since curiosity is probably the most important drive behind first-rate research. Fortunately curiosity is still present in phytolith research; the articles in this book are full of curiosity and ingenuity. Phytolith research has grown since the times of Darwin and in the last three decades has bloomed. The papers in this collection span most of the application of phytolith analysis (from archaeology, palaeoenvironmental studies and botany, to name just some) and the majority of them were presented at the 4th International Meeting on Phytolith Research that was held in Cambridge (UK) in August 2002.

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• PART 1: METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES
  • 1 Can slide preparation methods cause size biases in phytolith assemblages? Results from a preliminary study
    • Introduction
    • Materials and methods
    • Results
    • Discussion and conclusion
    • Acknowledgements
  • 2 Phytolith analysis of ploughed land thin sections. Contribution to the early development of medieval Brussels (Treurenberg site, Belgium)
    • Introduction
    • The proxies
    • Opal phytolith analysis of soil thin sections
    • The Treurenberg thin sections
    • The Treurenberg soil samples
    • Archaeological implications
    • Conclusions
    • Acknowledgments
    • Appendix
    • Thin section: Treur K34. Profile: T3. Horizon: 4 + top 5. SU 115
    • Thin section: Treur K47.2. Profile: T4. Horizons: 4, 5 & 6. SU 173.
    • Thin section: Treur C4.1. Profile: T3. Horizons: 5 & 6. SU 115 & 116
• PART 2: BOTANICAL RESEARCH
  • 3 A survey of phytoliths produced by the vegetation of Dhofar, Oman
    • Introduction
    • Study area
    • Vegetation
    • Plant communities
    • Materials and methods
    • Results
    • Conclusion
  • 4 Microfossils characterization from south Andean economic plants
    • Introduction
    • The regional problem
    • Materials and methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Conclusion
    • Acknowledgements
    • Appendix 4.1 Samples provenience
    • Appendix 4.2 Phytolith and starch grain descriptions
  • 5 Morphological characteristics observed in the leaf phytoliths of selected Gymnosperms of eastern Australia
    • Introduction
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Conclusion
    • Acknowledgments
  • 6 Silicification of conifers and its significance to the environment
    • Introduction
    • The silicon biocycle
    • Silicon deposition in conifer roots, stems and leaves
    • Materials and methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Biotic and climatic factors influencing coniferous forest ecosystems
    • Significance of conifer phytoliths in soils
    • Preservation of conifer phytoliths
    • Climate change and coniferous forests
    • Silica phytoliths as proxies of palaeoclimatic change
    • Acknowledgements
• PART 3: APPLICATIONS IN ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 7 Hearth structure and function at level J (50kyr, bp) from Abric Romaní (Capellades, Spain): phytolith, charcoal, bones and stone-tools
    • Introduction
    • The Abric Romaní site
    • The hearths
    • Archaeobotanical remains, bones and stone-tools
    • Methodology for the phytolith study
    • Results
    • Conclusions
    • Acknowledgements
  • 8 The analysis of phytolith from Braehead archaeological site (Scotland, UK)
    • Introduction
    • Objectives of the phytolith study from Braehead
    • Methodology
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Conclusions
    • Acknowledgements
  • 9 Microstratigraphy of an Early Historic refuse pit: a phytolithological approach
    • Introduction
    • Phytolithological analysis
    • Field and laboratory procedures
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Acknowledgments
  • 10 Phytolith analytical study on a Late Chalcolithic–Early Historical archaeo-stratigraphical sequence from Balathal, South Rajasthan, India
    • The archaeological background
    • Approach to the problem
    • The archaeo-stratigraphical sequence
    • Field and laboratory methods
    • Diagnostic results of Layers 5, 4 and 3
    • The biostratigraphic zonation
    • Acknowledgments
  • 11 Phytolith analysis, sheep, diet and fecal material at Ambathala pastoral station (Queensland, Australia)
    • Introduction
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Correlations
    • Comments and conclusion
    • Acknowledgements
    • Appendix 11.1: Possible occurrence of grasses in Ambathala catchment area
  • 12 Phytoliths as artifacts: evidence of threshing on silica bodies
    • Introduction
    • The Neolithic findings
    • The Bronze and Iron Age findings
    • New World threshing floors
    • The importance of cut phytoliths
• PART 4: PALAEOECOLOGICAL STUDIES IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXTS
  • 13 Phytoliths and micropalaeontological data in a boggy soil
    • Introduction
    • Geographical location and general description of study site
    • Materials and methods
    • Results and discussion
    • Conclusions
    • Acknowledgements
  • 14 Phytoliths from the Pleistocene site of Ambrona (Soria, Spain)
    • Introduction
    • Techniques and methods
    • Results
    • Conclusions
    • Acknowledgements
  • 15 Phytolith and pedoanthracological analysis of ‘off-site’ Holocene sequences from Mondragon (middle Rhone Valley, south of France)
    • Introduction
    • Site location and description
    • Methods
    • Complementarity between off-site charcoal and phytolith analyses
    • Definition of a new phytolith index: Bulliform Index
    • Results
    • Discussion: evolution of the vegetation as reconstructed by phytolith and charcoal analyses
    • Conclusion
• PART 5: APPLICATIONS IN PALAEOECOLOGY
  • 16 Preliminary phytolith analysis of Sarmiento Formation in the Gran Barranca (central Patagonia, Argentina)
    • Introduction
    • Historical antecedents and paleogrostological significance
    • Geological and paleontological setting
    • Materials and methods
    • Results
    • Paleobotanical affinities and conclusions
  • 17 Various phytolith types as bearers of different kinds of ecological information
    • Introduction
    • Object and methods of study
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Conclusions
    • Acknowledgments
  • 18 Micromorphology and phytoliths study in coastal dunes of the southeastern Pampean plains (Buenos Aires province, Argentina)
    • Introduction
    • Material and method of analysis
    • Results and discussion
    • Acknowledgments
  • 19 Phytoliths in soils and plants of the wetlands of the River Cigüela (Ciudad Real, Spain)
    • Introduction
    • Study sites
    • Techniques and methods
    • Results
    • Conclusions
    • Acknowledgements
• Bibliography
• List of Contributors