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Phytolith record from archaeological strata is a powerful tool for reconstructing aspects of past human behaviour and ecology. Phytolith reference collection of modern plants mostly from northern Greece includes quantitative information on phytolith concentrations. Of them, 28 are trees, 1 conifer, 10 shrubs and 1 herb, 3 domesticated annual legumes and 19 monocotyledons.
Phytolith record from archaeological strata is a powerful tool for reconstructing aspects of past human behaviour and ecology. Phytolith reference collection of modern plants mostly from northern Greece includes quantitative information on phytolith concentrations. Of them, 28 are trees, 1 conifer, 10 shrubs and 1 herb, 3 domesticated annual legumes and 19 monocotyledons.
Phytolith record from archaeological strata is a powerful tool for reconstructing aspects of past human behaviour and ecology. Phytolith reference collection of modern plants mostly from northern Greece includes quantitative information on phytolith concentrations. Of them, 28 are trees, 1 conifer, 10 shrubs and 1 herb, 3 domesticated annual legumes and 19 monocotyledons.
The phytolith archaeological record: strengths and weaknesses evaluated
based on a quantitative modern reference collection from Greece
Georgia Tsartsidou a, * , Simcha Lev-Yadun b , Rosa-Maria Albert c , Arlene Miller-Rosen d , Nikos Efstratiou e , Steve Weiner f a Ephoreia of Palaeoanthropology-Speleology of Southern Greece, Ardittou 34b, Athens 116 36, Greece b Department of Biology, University of Haifa, Oranim, Tivon 36006, Israel c Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Research Group for Palaeoecological and Geoarchaeological Studies, Department of Prehistory, Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Barcelona, c/ Baldiri Reixac, s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain d Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31e34 Gordon Square, London WC 1H OPY, UK e Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Thessaloniki, 54006 Thessaloniki, Greece f Department of Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel Received 7 May 2006; received in revised form 22 September 2006; accepted 20 October 2006 Abstract The phytolith record from archaeological strata is a powerful tool for reconstructing aspects of past human behaviour and ecology. Consider- able insights into the problems and potentials of this record can be obtained by studying phytoliths in modern plants. We prepared a phytolith reference collection of modern plants mostly from northern Greece that includes quantitative information on phytolith concentrations (number of phytoliths per gram dry organic material) and morphological assemblages. Here we analyse this reference collection with the aim of evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the archaeological phytolith record. The reference collection comprises 62 different plant taxa. Of them, 28 are trees, 1 conifer, 10 shrubs and 1 herb, 3 domesticated annual legumes and 19 monocotyledons. We demonstrate quantitatively the extent to which woody species, legumes and fruits of dicots contribute only small amounts of phytoliths to the sediments per unit tissue dry weight, while leaves of trees and shrubs produce signicant amounts of phytoliths and grasses are prolic phytolith producers. We compare the data of this reference collection with a similar reference collection from another Mediterranean ecosystem (Israel). The comparison indicates that some aspects of phytolith production are probably genetically controlled, whereas others are environmentally controlled. We note that despite the fact that woody species produce few phytoliths per gram of tissue, their record can be most informative when taking into account other properties of the sediments. We also note that jigsaw puzzle-shaped phytoliths normally form in plants that grow in humid conditions, but may form in arid environments when the plants are irrigated. This study clearly shows the extent to which some plants can be under-represented and others over-represented in the phytolith record. Knowing the extent of this bias can greatly improve our interpretation of the phytolith record. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Phytoliths; Quantitative reference collection; Greece; Plant microfossils; Archaeobotany 1. Introduction Plants are an important component of the archaeological record. Only the charred remains of the plants themselves are usually preserved, and this often represents a small fraction of the plants brought to the site by humans or their animals, or those that grew at the site. A potentially more complete botanical record can be obtained from the siliceous phytoliths. These mineralized elements are produced, often in large quan- tities, by many plants. They are relatively stable in many sedimentary environments and thus may accumulate in large amounts in archaeological sites. In order to best interpret the * Corresponding author. Tel.: 30 2108310372; fax: 30 2107561438. E-mail address: georgiat@arch.auth.gr (G. Tsartsidou). 0305-4403/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2006.10.017 Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1262e1275 http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jas phytolith record of an archaeological site it is necessary to document which local plants are relevant to the archaeological record, produce phytoliths and to determine the absolute quan- tities produced per unit weight of plant material. It is also necessary to differentiate between phytolith shapes that are unique to a specic plant or group of plants, and those that are common to many plant types. This can be done using a so-called quantitative reference collection (Albert and Weiner, 2001) to determine not only which plants were intro- duced into the site, but also the approximate quantities of plant material brought into the site. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the phytolith distribution within a site based on such a refer- ence collection may also reveal the use of a particular area of the site for a specic purpose. One such reference collection was produced for plants in the area of the prehistoric Kebara Cave, Mt. Carmel, Israel (Albert et al., 2000). Albert et al. (2003) used this reference collection to estimate the amounts of various dry plant material types that were brought into Kebara and Hayonim caves, northern Israel, in the Mousterian (Middle Paleolithic) and Natuan periods. Here we report the results of a second, more comprehensive phytolith reference collection mostly from northern Greece. These results, to- gether with a comparison of the two collections, provide new insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the phytolith archaeological record. Many phytolith reference collections have been produced in different regions (Bozarth, 1992; Jones and Bryant, 1992; Ollendorf et al., 1988; Piperno, 1984; Scott, 1992). Most of these involve identifying only the phytolith types in a given plant, and paying particular attention to those that are unique to a particular plant taxon. This information is then used to identify the use of that plant at a given archaeological site. This application is often limited as many plants do not produce uniquely shaped phytoliths. Nevertheless many studies have been conducted with respect to size and shape measurements in order to solve this problem and they succeed in differentiat- ing phytoliths from closely related taxa (Ball et al., 1996, 1999; Berlin et al., 2003; Pearsall et al., 1995; Zhao et al., 1998). Another approach is to divide the phytolith types into broader categories, such as being derived from wood and bark, from leaves, from grasses and in particular from cereals (Rosen, 1992). This is archaeologically very useful, as the ex- ploitation of such plant types is often indicative of a particular behaviour, such as fuel used for res and fodder collected for animals. There are however several inherent problems with this approach. One is that the same phytolith types are some- times produced in different plants. It is thus necessary to use the modern reference collection to allocate the approximate proportions of these common phytoliths to different plant cat- egories. See Albert et al. (2003) for more details. Another problem is that many phytoliths have variable morphologies, with irregular and not identiable shapes, as opposed to those with consistent morphologies. Albert et al. (1999) noted that the ratio of variable to consistent morphology phytoliths (v/c) can be indicative of certain plant types. The absolute production of phytoliths in plants per unit weight of dry plant material is for the most part genetically determined (Hodson et al., 2005; Piperno, 1988). Plants that produce large amounts of phytoliths (such as grasses, sedges and palms), do so irrespective of geographical region (Bamford et al., 2006; Piperno, 1988). Thus estimates of amounts of plant types used can be made by comparing gen- eral plant categories such as grasses, dicots, cereals and le- gumes. Phytolith production is however also inuenced to some extent by the environment; concentrations of monosilicic acid in soils, the temperature and water content of soils, the pH and the climate (Jones and Handreck, 1965; Madella et al., 2002; Piperno, 1988; Rosen and Weiner, 1994). The reference collection reported here was prepared as part of a broader ethno-archaeological study of a traditional village called Sar- akini, located in the Rhodope Mountains of northern Greece (Fig. 1). In so doing it includes the most common plants of the area relevant to everyday life of the ethnographic environ- ment and it is not an exhaustive analysis of the plants of north- ern Greece. Some species such as Zea mays, which is a modern staple of the village, were also analysed even though they do not have any local archaeological signicance. The reference collection will also constitute the basis for analysing the phytoliths from the Neolithic site of Makri, located on the coast in the area of Thrace. Here we highlight the relative amounts of phytoliths, as well as the phytolith types produced by 62 different plant taxa collected from northern and central Greece, including woody dicots and a conifer, shrubs, dicot herbs and monocot- yledons. This quantitative information can be used to offset the biases of the phytolith record. We also focus on aspects of the data that provide insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the phytolith component of the archaeological record. All the data is available upon request from G.T. 2. Materials and methods Sixty-two plant species were collected during the summer of 2003 from three different areas of Greece (Table 1). These comprise 28 trees (woody dicotyledons), 1 conifer (gymno- sperm), 10 shrubs, 1 herb, 3 domesticated annual legumes and 19 monocotyledons, 5 of which were cereals and 1 a rush. All the dicotyledonous trees and shrubs, the conifer and most of the grasses are from the mountainous area of Rhodope, northern Greece, and the plain at the foot of the mountains. The legumes and some monocotyledons (Lagurus ovatus, Arundo sp., Hordeum vulgare, Hynaldia villosa, Briza maxima, Juncus sp.) were collected during the same summer from central Greece (Boeotia, Attika, Argolid). We chose plants that are commonly used by humans now or in antiquity. These include trees that are useful for construction (e.g., Ju- glans regia), trees that are commonly used as fuel (Quercus sp.), edible plants such as fruits, legumes and cereals, shrubs that may have been used for medical or other reasons (e.g., Salvia ofcinalis, Thymus capitatus), wild grasses that animals eat in the open or people feed them and cereals that are also used for construction activities (Secale cereale). Most of the plants were separated into different parts in order to acquire information on the potential contribution of 1263 G. Tsartsidou et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1262e1275 a specic plant part to the phytolith record. This is sometimes most helpful, since different parts of plants may reect various human or animal habits and activities, including seasonal ac- tivities. Most of the grasses and all the cereals were separated into two parts: inorescence (including the grains) and the leaves/stems together. Tree species were mechanically sepa- rated into ve parts whenever possible: wood, bark, leaves, owers and fruits. Herbaceous plants were analyzed whole and thus include stem, leaves and often the owers. A total of 148 samples were analysed. We compared our results with those of Albert and Weiner (2001) for plants from Mt. Carmel, Israel. This collection con- sists of 29 plant species, including 11 woody dicotyledons. More recently a few grass species from Mount Carmel area have also been analysed (Albert et al., submitted for publica- tion). Table 2 lists all the species analysed. 2.1. Phytolith extraction The plants were cleaned extensively by washing in de- ionized water in a sonicator to avoid contamination from phytoliths of other plants adhering to their surfaces. The dried plants were then weighed. They were burnt in a fur- nace at 500
for 4 h. The ash was treated with 1 N HCl and centrifuged (3500 rpm for 10 min), resuspended in de- ionized water and centrifuged again. The supernatant was discarded and the washing was repeated three times. Since there was charcoal in almost all the samples, the samples were re-ashed at 500
C for 90 min and then weighed. The ash was again treated with 1 N HCl and washed in a centrifuge as above. This constituted the acid insoluble fraction (AIF), which reects also the yield of silica (opal) in the plants. The AIF fractions were then dried un- der a heat lamp and weighed. We noted that in all the bark and some of the wood and leaf samples the AIF did not contain only silica, as was the case in most of the leaves and all the monocotyledons, but also included mainly quartz and clay. In two cases the calcium sulphate mineral, anhy- drite, was a major component of the ash (Juglans regia, Tamarix sp.). In order to obtain more accurate estimates of the phytolith per gram plant material values, ash samples with soil derived minerals were further puried by centri- fuging in 2.4 g/ml density heavy liquid (sodium polytung- state: Na 6 (H 2 W 12 O 40 )$H 2 O). The AIF was transferred into a centrifuge tube and 5 ml of heavy liquid were added. The suspension was sonicated for 10 min until it was well dispersed. It was then centrifuged at 3500 rpm for 20 min. The supernatant was transferred to another centrifuge tube, 1 ml of water was added and again centrifuged as above. This cycle was repeated once more and then the tube was lled with water for the nal centrifugation. In so doing the denser minerals were separated from the less dense silica in four stages. The plants that were subject to the ad- ditional treatment included all the bark samples, and from the wood samples Salix sp., Fagus sylvatica, Juglans regia, Alnus glutinosa, Pistacia terebinthus, Quercus pubescens, Fig. 1. Map of Greece. The areas from which the plants of the reference collection have been collected are shown (Thrace, Argolid, Boeotia). 1264 G. Tsartsidou et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1262e1275 Table 1 List of all the plants collected from Greece for phytolith analysis Latin name Family English name Provenance Woody plants Acer monospessulanum Aceraceae Maple Thrace M Alnus glutinosa Betulaceae Black alder Thrace M Arbutus adrachne Ericaceae Strawberry tree Thrace M Carpinus betulus Betulaceae Hornbean Thrace M Celtis australis Ulmaceae Nettle tree Thrace C Corylus avelana Corylaceae Hazelnut Thrace M Crataegus sp. Rosaceae Hawthorn Thrace M Fagus sylvatica Fagaceae Beech Thrace M Ficus carica Moraceae Fig tree Thrace M Fraxinus ornus Oleaceae Manna ash Thrace M Juglans regia Juglandaceae Walnut Thrace M Juniperus oxycedrus Cupressaceae Juniper Thrace M Olea europaea Oleaceae Olive tree Thrace C Phillyrea latifolia Oleaceae Basswood Thrace P Pistacia terebinthus Anacardiaceae Terebinth Thrace P Populus alba Salicaceae White poplar Thrace M Prunus amygdalus Rosaceae Almond tree Thrace C Prunus avium Rosaceae Wild cherry Thrace M Pyrus amygdaliformis Rosaceae Wild pear Thrace M Quercus coccifera Fagaceae Kermes oak Thrace P Quercus frainetto Fagaceae Hungarian oak Thrace M Quercus petraea Fagaceae Durmast oak Thrace M Quercus pubescens Fagaceae Downy oak Thrace M Salix sp. Salicaceae Willow Thrace M Sambucus nigra Caprifoliaceae Common elder Thrace M Sorbus torminalis Rosaceae Wild service tree Thrace M Tamarix sp. Tamaricaceae Tamarisk Thrace P Tilia sp. Tiliaceae Lime Thrace M Vitex agnus castus Verbenaceae Chaste tree Thrace P Herbaceous plants and shrubs Cichorium sp. Cichoriaceae Chicory Thrace M Ephedra altissima Ephedraceae Ephedra Thrace C Euphorbia sp. Euphorbiaceae Spurge Thrace M Nicotiana tabacum Solanaceae Tobacco Thrace M Paliurus spina christi Rhamnaceae Christs thorn Thrace P Pteridium aquilinum Hypolepidaceae Fern Thrace M Rubus sanctus Rosaceae Blackberry Thrace M Salvia ofcinalis Labiatae Sage Thrace M Thymus capitatus. Labiatae Thyme Thrace M Urtica sp. Urticaceae Stinging nettle Thrace M Vitis sylvestris Vitaceae Grape-vine Thrace M Domesticated annual legumes Cicer arietinum Leguminoseae Chickpea Boeotia P Lens culinaris Leguminoseae Lentil Boeotia P Vicia faba Leguminoseae Faba bean Boeotia P Monocotyledons Aegilops sp. Gramineae Goat grass (wild wheat) Thrace M Arundo sp. Gramineae Reed Boeotia P Briza maxima Gramineae Quaking grass Argolid P Bromus sp. Gramineae Brome Thrace M Cynodon dactylon Gramineae Bermuda grass Thrace M Dactylis glomerata Gramineae Orchard grass Thrace M Hynaldia villosa Gramineae Argolid P Lagurus ovatus Gramineae Hare tail Attika P Lolium sp. Gramineae Ryegrass Thrace M Melica sp. Gramineae Melick grass Thrace M Phleum sp. Gramineae Cats tail Thrace M Polypogon monspeliensis Gramineae Beard grass Thrace M Stipa bromoides Gramineae Needle grass Thrace M Juncus sp. Juncaceae Rush Argolid P (continued on next page) 1265 G. Tsartsidou et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1262e1275 Quercus frainetto, Quercus coccifera, Juniperus oxycedrus, Tamarix sp., Acer mosnospessulanum, Carpinus orientalis, Olea europaea, Corylus avelana, Populus alba and Celtis australis. The leaves of the following plants were also fur- ther puried: Prunus avium, Rubus sp., Salix sp., Sambucus nigra, Pyrus amygdaliformis, Tamarix sp., Crataegus sp., Vi- tis sylvestris, Vicia faba, Lens cullinaris, Salvia ofcinalis and Thymus capitatus. The two last fractions contained the phytoliths and after drying under a heat lamp they were weighed. Slides of both fractions were prepared and counted. About 1 mg of AIF was accurately weighed and then placed on the slide, six drops of Entellan were added and a cover slip was lowered carefully over the well-mixed suspension. At least 200 phy- toliths were counted in each slide, when possible. Albert and Weiner (2001) demonstrated that the counting of 194 phytoliths with consistent morphology gives an error margin of 23%. We note that siliceous aggregates were not included and silica skeletons were counted as one phytolith. This could be a problem in calculations as silica skeletons are usually more common in the plant phytolith records than in the sediments. Our analysis of the sediments in the eth- nographic environment as well as in the Neolithic site shows that they are rich in silica skeletons and these are not destroyed during sample preparation. The variability in the degree of silicication in plants that could raise or lower the number of silica skeletons is offset by the fact that the reference collection is prepared in the same geographic re- gion as the sediments analysed. The number of phytoliths in the slide (consistent and variable morphology) was then related to 1 g of dry plant material. 2.2. Phytolith classication The phytoliths were classied morphologically according to their anatomical origin and when this was not possible, ac- cording to their geometrical shape. Following Albert et al. (1999) they were separated into two major categories: those with consistent morphologies that repeat themselves in more than one sample and those with variable morphologies, with irregular and unidentiable morphologies. Phytoliths with consistent morphologies were classied and their relative pro- portions determined in percent. The terminology used for con- sistent morphology phytolith classication followed Albert (2000), Brown (1984), Madella et al. (2005), Metcalfe (1960), Piperno (1988) and Twiss et al. (1969). 3. Results and discussion Fig. 2 shows the number of phytoliths per gram dry plant material of all the plants analyzed in this study. The samples were sub-divided into six categories in order to better evaluate the contribution of each category to the archaeological record. The overall range is from zero to 12 million phytoliths/g dry plant material. It can readily be seen that the potential contri- butions of different plants as well as different parts of plants to the phytolith record, vary enormously. By knowing the phyto- lith production per unit weight of each species, and in some cases also the variations in phytolith production within a plant, the quantities of different plant materials brought into an ar- chaeological site can be inferred. This is certainly of much ar- chaeological interest (see Albert and Weiner, 2001, for more details). The following is a more detailed analysis of phytolith production in different plant types following Fig. 2. 3.1. Wood and bark Fig. 2a shows that many wood samples contain no phyto- liths at all, and those that do, do not exceed 400 phytoliths/ gram dry wood. Bark samples contain an order of magnitude more phytoliths per gram (Fig. 2b). Bark samples are however prone to being contaminated by phytoliths from other plants adhering strongly to the bark surface (see below). The most prominent examples of contamination we found were Celtis and Fagus bark samples, where the morphologies of most of the phytoliths clearly show that they are derived from dicot leaves and/or grasses. The average number of phytoliths/ gram in bark (excluding Celtis and Fagus) is 1300, compared to 63, the average number of phytoliths per gram in wood. We note that the weight proportion of wood and bark in small to medium sized branches or trunks ranged from 4:1 to 9:1. Wood and bark contain relatively few phytoliths per unit weight of dry plant material. Furthermore, many of these phytoliths have variable morphologies and cannot be uniquely identied with wood and bark of specic taxa. There are how- ever certain phytolith types (e.g., ellipsoids and spheroids (globular) with smooth margins), that are indicative of having been derived from wood and bark. 3.2. Edible parts of dicots (fruits, nuts, legumes) The edible parts of trees (fruits, nuts), as well as legumes, produce extremely small amounts of phytoliths (from a few tens to 2000 phytoliths/g) (Fig. 2c). The exceptions are the Table 1 (continued) Latin name Family English name Provenance Domesticated cereals Avena sativa Gramineae Oats Thrace M Hordeum vulgare Gramineae Barley Boeotia P Secale cereale Gramineae Rye Thrace M Triticum aestivum Gramineae Bread wheat Thrace M Zea mays Gramineae Corn Thrace M The provenance is shown: M, mountain; C, coastal plain; P, plain at the foot of the mountain. 1266 G. Tsartsidou et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1262e1275 fruits of Ficus carica and the acorns of Quercus pubescens (whole fruits) that produce 140,000 and 350,000 phytoliths/g respectively. Thus, in general, the contribution of fruits to the phytolith record will be minimal. 3.3. Leaves and inorescence of dicotyledonous trees and shrubs Fig. 2d shows that the leaves and owers of trees and shrubs produce a huge range of phytoliths per gram of dry material (from one hundred to millions/gram). The widespread production of phytoliths in leaves of trees and shrubs can therefore be most helpful for identifying plant species in archaeological or geological sediments, provided a reference collection of the surrounding area is available. Of the 38 leaf samples analysed in this study, Celtis australis and Urtica sp. contain the highest concentrations of phytoliths. Both these plants are characterised anatomically by hairy leaves reected in their rich phytolith record (52% and 63% hair phytoliths respectively). Note too that 94% of Table 2 Plant reference collections from Israel and Greece Israel collection Greek collection Species Provenance Plan part Phyt. gram dry material Species Provenance Plant part Phyt. gram dry material Avena sterilis Tel-Dor Leaves 7,000,000 Avena sterilis Thrace Culm/leaves 600,000 Avena sterilis Tel-Dor Stem 1,000,000 Avena sterilis Tel-Dor Inorescence 2,000,000 Avena sterilis Thrace Inorescence 2,000,000 Lagurus ovatus Tel-Dor Leaves 1,000,000 Lagurus ovatus Attika Culm/leaves 7,000,000 Lagurus ovatus Tel-Dor Stem 40,000 Lagurus ovatus Tel-Dor Inorescence 400,000 Lagurus ovatus Attika Inorescence 7,600,000 Hordeum vulgare Tel-Dor Whole plant 700,000 Hordeum vulgare Boeotia Culm/leaves 1,500,000 Hordeum vulgare Tel-Dor Inorescence 400,000 Hordeum vulgare Boeotia Inorescence 1,000,000 Triticum aestivum Tel-Dor Inorescence 400,000 Triticum aestivum Thrace Husk 4,000,000 Triticum aestivum Mt Carmel Whole plant 1,500,000 Triticum aestivum Thrace Culm/leaves 3,000,000 Cynodon dactylon (Northern Tanzania) Whole plant 5,000,000 Cynodon dactylon Thrace Whole plant 2,100,000 Arundo donax Mt Carmel Stem 500,000 Arundo donax Mt Carmel Sheath 2,000,000 Arundo sp. Boeotia Stem/sheath 1,500,000 Lens culinaris Mt Carmel Whole plant 1000 Lens culinaris Boeotia Whole plant 200 Salix acmophylla Mt Carmel Wood 5 Salix sp. Thrace Wood 0 Salix acmophylla Mt Carmel bark 1000 Salix sp. Thrace Bark 700 Salix acmophylla Mt Carmel Leaves 9000 Salix sp. Thrace Leaves 2000 Pistacia palaestina Mt Carmel Wood 4 Pistacia terebinthus Thrace Wood 1 Pistacia palaestina Mt Carmel Bark 71 Pistacia terebibthus Thrace Bark 800 Pistacia palaestina Mt Carmel Leaves 11,000 Pistacia terebinthus Thrace Leaves 11,000 Crataegus aronia Mt Carmel Wood 7 Crataegus sp. Thrace Wood 2 Crataegus aronia Mt Carmel Leaves 2000 Crataegus sp. Thrace Leaves 6000 Olea europaea Mt Carmel Wood 11 Olea europaea Thrace Wood 160 Olea europaea Mt Carmel Bark 54 Olea europaea Thrace Bark 200 Olea europaea Mt Carmel Leaves 1000 Olea europaea Thrace Leaves 40,000 Olea europaea Mt Carmel Fruits 8 Olea europaea Thrace Fruits (pulp) 20 Amygdalus communis Mt Carmel Wood 9 Prunus amygdalus Thrace Wood 100 Amygdalus communis Mt Carmel Bark 2000 Prunus amygdalus Thrace Bark 800 Amygdalus communis Mt Carmel Leaves 3000 Prunus amygdalus Thrace Leaves 60,000 Ephedra foemina Mt Carmel Branches 11,000 Ephedra altissima Thrace Whole plant 11,000 Ficus Carica Mt Carmel Leaves 1,000,000 Ficus carica Thrace Leaves 1,000,000 Ficus Carica Mt Carmel Fruits 100,000 Ficus carica Thrace Fruits 100,000 Quercus calliprinos Mt Carmel Wood 23 Quercus frainetto Thrace Wood 35 Quercus calliprinos Mt Carmel Bark 9000 Quercus frainetto Thrace Bark 3000 Quercus calliprinos Mt Carmel Leaves 11,000 Quercus frainetto Thrace Leaves 200,000 Quercus ithaburensis Mt Carmel Wood 100 Quercus pubescence Thrace Wood 3 Quercus ithaburensis Mt Carmel Bark 600 Quercus pubescence Thrace Bark 5000 Quercus ithaburensis Mt Carmel Leaves 12,000 Quercus pubescence Thrace Leaves 1,000,000 Quercus ithaburensis Mt Carmel Husk acorn 20 Quercus pubescence Thrace Acorns 300,000 Quercus ithaburensis Mt Carmel Caps 6000 Quercus coccifera Thrace Wood 9 Quercus coccifera Thrace Bark 200 Quercus coccifera Thrace Leaves 20,000 Quercus coccifera Thrace Acorns 2000 Quercus petraea Thrace Wood 100 Quercus petraea Thrace Bark 5000 Quercus petraea Thrace Leaves 500,000 The list contains the plants that belong to at least the same genus and the specic parts of the plants analysed, showing the number of phytoliths per gram dry material. 1267 G. Tsartsidou et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1262e1275 Fig. 2. Number of phytoliths per gram dry weight of all the plants analysed from Greece; (a) wood, (b) bark, (c) edible parts of dicots (fruits, nuts, legumes), (d) leaves and owers of trees and herbaceous plants and (e) monocotyledons. 1268 G. Tsartsidou et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1262e1275 the phytoliths produced by the leaves of Ficus carica are hair phytoliths. The fruit of Ficus carica also produces hair phyto- liths (62%). Hair phytoliths though have little taxonomic value since they are produced in high amounts by both dicots and monocots. Although there are studies suggesting that hairs can be diagnostic (Theobald et al., 1979) especially for mono- cots (Kaplan et al., 1992), this collection shows that hair phy- toliths generally have a limited taxonomic value. On the other hand, prickles can usually be assigned to grasses and hairs attached to their bases can be classied to either dicotyledons or monocotyledons. Nevertheless the hair phytoliths of Ficus carica, Celtis australis and Urtica sp. in this collection are similar and therefore cannot be used for plant identication. Generally, the leaves of trees and shrubs produce phytoliths characteristic of dicotyledons (mainly polyhedral phytoliths and tracheary elements). One exception is the leaves of Juni- perus oxycedrus (a conifer) that do not produce polyhedral phytoliths, but a high proportion of cylindroids (76%). This is a characteristic also noted in the conifers (Pinus halepensis and Cupressus sempervirens) of the Mt. Carmel collection (Albert, 2000). A phytolith type of much interest is the jigsaw puzzle phytolith. Bozarth (1992) and Geis (1973) suggested that this type is produced by deciduous trees growing in humid conditions. Albert (2000) did not nd this type of phytolith in the Mt. Carmel collection. Cells of this shape were ob- served in a thick section of leaves of Quercus calliprinos, but they were not silicied. Quercus calliprinos is an ever- green plant and Albert suggested that this cell type silicies in non-deciduous trees over a long period of time. In con- trast, jigsaw puzzle phytoliths are present in several decidu- ous plants in this collection and especially in Sorbus torminalis. The humid climate and high precipitation of the Rhodope mountains thus seems to be the reason for their formation. The different climatic conditions of the geo- graphic areas in which the two collections were made, could account for this difference. In this collection jigsaw puzzle phytoliths were also found in several legumes and shrubs, Lens culinaris (12%), Thymus capitatus (16%) and Pteridium aquilinum (37%). It is interesting to note that the spodogram of Vicia sativa showed the presence of this type of phytolith. This plant was collected from a village in central Greece (Boeotia). The climate in this region is not humid and the bedrock is mainly carbonate. The Vicia sativa specimens an- alysed were from an irrigated cultivated eld and are used for animal fodder. Hence wet conditions exist and these may indeed be responsible for jigsaw puzzle phytolith for- mation. Thus the presence of this type of phytolith could in- dicate either wet forest conditions around an archaeological site or the use of irrigation. Finally, the ower phytoliths of trees and shrubs cannot be differentiated from those in the leaves. The fact that both owers and leaves are associated with the small branches of trees can provide information on the part of the tree (i.e., thin versus thick branches) used. The only exception is the in- orescence of Vitex agnus castus (chaste tree) that produces a specic phytolith type (thin platelets with stripes). 3.4. Monocotyledons Monocotyledons are, as expected, the major phytolith producers in this region. Almost all species analysed produce over half a million phytoliths/gram. The stems of four species (Avena sativa, Briza maxima, Phleum sp. and Secale cereale) (Fig. 2e) produce no more than 700,000 phytoliths /g of dry plant material. The largest amounts of phytoliths are present in wild grasses (Polypogon monspeliensis, Phleum sp., Lagu- rus ovatus, Stipa bromoides, Bromus sp.) that produce from 6 to 12 million phytoliths/g. The cereals that produce the larg- est amounts of phytoliths are Triticum aestivum and Secale cereale. Their inorescences contain approximately 4 million phytoliths/g of dry plant. Another archaeologically important parameter is the rela- tive amounts of phytoliths in the inorescence of grasses compared to the culm/leaves fraction of the same plant. Ino- rescence produces more phytoliths than culms and leaves (Piperno, 1988). In general, we observed the same pattern, but with exceptions (Hordeum vulgare and Aegilops sp.) (Fig. 3). We also noted that in some plants (Polypogon mon- speliensis, Secale cereale, Arundo sp., Stipa bromoides, Phleum sp.) the differences between the inorescence and culm/leaves phytolith production are very large. In general, the morphological classication of grass phyto- liths in this collection is in agreement with published data. The dominant types are the short-cells, long-cells, and groupings of these within articulated phytoliths (silica skeletons), as was noted also by Albert (2000) and Rosen (1992). The short cells are distributed between the following sub-families according to the classication by Twiss et al. (1969); rondels are pro- duced by C3 festucoid grasses (cereals, Bromus sp., Melica sp., etc.), saddles are produced by C4 chloridoid grasses (Cyn- odon dactylon), bilobes by panicoid and arundinoid grasses (Zea mays, Arundo sp.) and crosses are present in the only panicoid grass of this collection (Zea mays). There are however some common morphotypes, such as crenates (trapeziforms sinuates and polylobates) that are mainly produced in festucoid grasses but have been also found in Cynodon dactylon (in lower amounts though, only 3%). It is worth noting the predominance of C3 grasses in the Rhodope mountains. This is consistent with the cool wet conditions that are the favourable regions for these grasses (Abrantes, 2003). The inorescence of wild grasses and cereals has some different phytolith morphological characteristics (Rosen, 1992). As far as silica skeletons from husks are concerned, Rosen (1992) noticed that the size and width of the wave of the long cells walls, as well as the frequency and the attributes of the papillae and the shape of the cork cells, can be used to identify a specic grass genus or even species. This is consis- tent with observations made using this collection. The attri- butes Rosen described for Triticum as well as Hordeum and Avena are identical with those observed in the same species in this collection, and they are distinct from the wild species. Rye (Secale cereale), a cereal not included in her analysis, shows great similarities with barley; thick cell walls, squarish 1269 G. Tsartsidou et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1262e1275 waves, with even amplitude. The papillae though are slightly different. They are bigger than barleys and domed in shape, they have more than 12 pits on their periphery (barley has 7e9) and the cork cell is kidney-shaped but more elongated and with round endings. It is obvious that for identifying bar- ley or rye, a well-silicied and complete silica skeleton from the plants husk is necessary. The wild grasses differ a lot from the cereals. They showed a narrow and erratic wave of the cell wall, high frequency of small sized papillae, and many pits on their periphery (more than 14). These attributes characterize all the wild species analysed. On the other hand stems produce long cell articulated silica skeletons with psilate margins that are characteristic of stems, but cannot be used to differentiate wild species from cereals. Although Rosen (1992) has shown some special attributes of cereal stem silica skeletons, this collection shows that both wild grasses and cereals share these attributes and therefore these attributes cannot be diagnostic. Furthermore, the stems of many of the wild grasses and cereals produce relatively few phytoliths compared to the inorescences. 3.5. Proportions of variable to consistent morphology phytoliths The variable to consistent morphology (v/c) ratio, together with the information on phytolith production per gram dry plant, can be indicative of the overall type of plant compo- nent introduced into the site (Albert et al., 2000). Fig. 4 shows a plot of the average ratios obtained for different cat- egories of plants. Grasses produce almost no variable mor- phology phytoliths, and consequently have an average ratio of 0.02. The average ratio of dicot leaves and inorescence is also low (0.16 and 0.15 respectively). The herbaceous plants including legumes have a higher ratio (average 0.6), and wood and bark have the highest ratios (wood, 1.02; wood and bark together, 0.95). Fruits also have a high ratio (0.95). 3.6. Contamination While studying the different parts of the plants we noted that phytoliths from one plant type can contaminate other plants. The fact that these phytoliths are intrusive and not an integral part of the parent cell morphology was conrmed by spodograms, i.e., a chemical preparation procedure whereby the cytoplasmic content of plant material is removed and epidermal layers are detached in order to observe the plant epidermis with phytoliths in situ (Kaplan et al., 1992). Albert (2000) adopted a similar approach using thin sections of the inner bark of her tree collection to differentiate between phytoliths formed in the bark from those derived from contam- ination. Spodograms prepared for dicotyledonous leaves and monocotyledons (Figs. 5, 6) clearly show which phytoliths form in situ, such as the long cells in monocotyledons and the polyhedral and tracheids in dicot leaves. Fig. 7 is a plot of the average number of contaminating phytoliths in each plant category. In estimating these values we excluded the species for which we counted less than 50 consistent morphology phytoliths due to the lack of reliability of the results. We noted that grasses show no contamination from other plant material. In contrast, wood/bark shows the highest contamination (49% are phytoliths characteristic of grasses and dicot leaves), while dicot owers and leaves have the lowest (0.5% and 2% respectively). Albert et al. (2003) found that the contamination of wood/bark by grass phytoliths was around 30%. 3.7. Comparison with the Albert and Weiner (2001) reference collection Table 2 shows the numbers of phytoliths per gram where the same part of the plant from the same species or at least ge- nus was analysed in the reference collection from Mt. Carmel and the adjacent coastal area in Israel and the reference collec- tion from central and northern Greece. We note that the num- bers of phytoliths per gram of the woody taxa are similar in Fig. 3. Amounts of phytoliths per gram dry weight in the inorescence and culm/leaves of grasses analysed from Greece. 1270 G. Tsartsidou et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1262e1275 both collections even when they belong to different species. Dicot leaves are also similar, except for Olea europaea and Amygdalus communis, where small differences are observed. Quercus species show bigger differences, but we should bear in mind that different species are compared. Finally, grasses also produce similar amounts of phytoliths in both regions for most of the species analysed (Avena sterilis inorescence, Cynodon dactylon whole plant (from Tanzania), Hordeum vul- gare inorescence and Arundo donax stem and sheath), with the only major exception being the Lagurus ovatus inores- cence. We also note that within both collections where differ- ent species of the same genus were analysed, there are also such signicant differences. As far as the same species are concerned, in only 4 out of 15 comparisons are there signicant differences. Based on this rather small set of data, together with the more general obser- vations above, we tentatively conclude that the major control over the number of phytoliths per unit weight is genetic. This is in agreement with Piperno (1988), Hodson et al. (2005) and Piperno et al. (2002). The latter have shown the phytolith formation in Curcubita fruits is genetically deter- mined and is not affected by environmental variability. Zheng et al. (2003) have made similar observations. It is however possible that similar plant taxa from very different geographical regions will differ both with respect to amounts and types of phytoliths produced. Bamford et al. (2006) noticed that the plants from East Africa produced many more phytoliths than the same genera from Israel. This may be due to the higher availability of silica in the East African soils (Albert et al., 2006; Bamford et al., 2006). It is also true when comparing silica yields in the leaves of trees in Greece to those from the north central region of the USA (Geis, 1973) (same genera but different species). The absolute silica yields in the North American trees are consis- tently lower than those analysed in the Rhodope Mountains, despite the fact that the annual precipitation in the two regions is about the same (800e1200 mm vs 700e1000 mm in the Rhodope Mountains). The reason for this is not known but it might also relate to the bedrock chemistry. Finally, Rosen and Weiner (1994) noted large variations in the yields of phy- toliths from wheat grown in northern Europe versus Israel, and within Israel under different conditions. The signicance of these observations is equivocal, as both the amount of rainfall and the extent of irrigation vary. In general the phytolith morphotypes in each plant or plant part are similar in both collections. We note that in both regions spheroids (globulars) are the predominant phytoliths in wood and bark, as are polyhedrals and tracheids from dicot leaves (e.g., in the Israel collection Prunus amygdalus pro- duces 88% polyhedrals and tracheary elements and in the Greek collection 72%). Lens culinaris on the other hand pro- duces 65% tracheary elements in the Greek collection and only 29% tracheary elements and 61% cylindroids in the Israel collection. We noted above the presence of jigsaw puzzle phy- toliths in Lens culinaris in the Greek collection (12%) and their absence in the Israel collection. Grasses also show a sim- ilar distribution of morphotypes. For example, in the inores- cence of Avena sterilis short cells, long cells and silica skeleton long cells are abundant and present in roughly the same proportions in both collections. In the Greek collection they constitute 39%, 25% and 25% respectively and in the Fig. 4. Average ratios of variable to consistent morphology (v/c) phytoliths in the different plant categories analysed from Greece. Fig. 5. Spodogram from the leaf of Pistacia terebinthus showing polyhedral silica skeletons, mesophyl silica skeletons and tracheary elements. 1271 G. Tsartsidou et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1262e1275 Israel collection 37%, 7% and 31% respectively. Similar distri- butions are present in Cynodon dactylon; the short cells and long cells prevail and constitute 48% and 24% respectively in the Greek collection and 42% and 19% respectively in the East African collection. We note though that the short cells of Cynodon dactylon in the Greek collection are mostly of the chloridoid type, whereas in the African collection they are of the festucoid types. Finally, a comparison of the v/c ratios obtained in this study to those reported by Albert et al. (1999) shows that dicot leaves and especially grasses have similar ratios. In Albert et al.s collection the average is 0.22 and 0.09 respectively and in this collection they are 0.16 and 0.02. Major differences are present in fruits (Alberts average 2.18, while in this collection it is 0.95) and especially in wood/bark (4.97 in her collection and 0.95 in this one). The lower wood/bark ratio obtained in this study can be attributed to the higher extent of contamination (40e50% in this study vs about 30% in Albert et al.s (2003) study). 4. General discussion A quantitative reference collection of phytoliths from modern plants is the basis for documenting which plants leave their traces in the form of siliceous phytoliths in the sediments of an archaeological site and to what extent. The quantitative results presented here show that different plant species and plant parts have vastly different phytolith concentrations and hence their potential contributions vary enormously. This needs to be taken into account when decoding the archaeolog- ical or geological phytolith record. The following are some additional strengths and weaknesses of the archaeological phytolith record. 4.1. Plants that produce few phytoliths The woody species are the most conspicuous and archaeo- logically important group of low phytolith producers. This broad survey of phytoliths in wood and bark conrms that wood from many species does not contain any phytoliths, and in those species that do contain phytoliths, the concentra- tions are very low. In contrast, almost all the bark samples analysed do contain phytoliths, although also in relatively small concentrations. Furthermore a signicant proportion of the bark phytoliths are clearly contaminants. An added prob- lem is that many of the phytoliths produced by woody species have irregular or variable morphologies. Using only phytoliths to reconstruct the use of wood and bark by humans is clearly fraught with difculties. These severe weaknesses are offset to a certain extent by the fact that many species of trees also produce a different form of mineralized material mainly in their bark. This is an aggregate of soil minerals embedded in a biologically pro- duced matrix of silica that unlike phytoliths also contains abundant ions such as iron, aluminium and potassium. These were originally called silica aggregates by Sangster and Parry (1981), but because the silica is so impure, Schiegl et al. (1994) referred to them as siliceous aggregates. Sili- ceous aggregates, like phytoliths, are relatively insoluble and thus often persist in the archaeological record. Their presence together with phytoliths characteristic of wood and bark (e.g., a high proportion of variable morphology phytoliths, spheroids and ellipsoids) would be indicative of wood having been brought to the site (Schiegl et al., 1994). As wood is mainly used for fuel, the burning process can also augment the phytolith record. If preservation conditions are good, then the calcitic ash produced by burning of the calcium oxalate minerals, which are usually abundant in wood and bark, will also be preserved. Under poorer preserva- tion conditions, the calcitic ash may convert into various more insoluble phosphate minerals that can also be recognized as having been derived from ash (Karkanas et al., 2000, 2002; Schiegl et al., 1996). The refractive index of the phytoliths changes as a result of exposure to high temperatures (Elbaum et al., 2003). This too can be used to infer the presence of wood fuel. Thus despite the fact that trees generally produce few phytoliths, their unique characteristics and association with siliceous aggregates, ash and charcoal, together with the fact that often large quantities of wood were burnt, can produce a reliable and informative record. It has been noted that in certain prehistoric caves calcitic ash is present, often in the form of hearths, but phytoliths and siliceous aggregates indicative of wood and bark are Fig. 7. Average percentages of contamination in each plant category analysed from Greece. Fig. 6. Spodogram from the stem of Juncus sp., showing rod and long cell silica skeletons and stomata. 1272 G. Tsartsidou et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1262e1275 unidentiable (Schiegl et al., 1996). This could be due to an alkaline environment, such as is produced by calcite. At high pH, phytoliths are less stable and may have dissolved (Schiegl et al., 1996, 2004). Another possible reason for the absence of wood-derived phytoliths is that the wood used did not have associated bark, and as many species of trees pro- duce wood without phytoliths or with very few phytoliths, no record remains. Bark is often more susceptible to degradation, and thus dry wood collected for fuel may be without its bark. G.T. was informed by people living in northern Greece that wood collected for fuel is often debarked in order to reduce the weight of the load carried back to the village. Wood used for construction is also debarked. Thus there are circum- stances under which wood may not be represented in the archaeological phytolith record at all, despite the fact that it was commonly used. When thin tree branches with proportionately more bark and leaves were used as fuel or for other purposes (e.g., roof- ing, wall constructions), it may be possible to detect this human behaviour in the archaeological record, since bark does have some characteristic phytoliths and leaves of most plants do produce high amounts of characteristic phytoliths. This was recognized in the Middle Paleolithic record of Hay- onim Cave, but not in the overlying Natuan layers (Albert et al., 2003). Among the low phytolith producing plant parts are the owers of trees and shrubs, apart from chaste tree (Vitex agnus castus). This limits the possibility of obtaining information on the season of occupation of a site. Fruits also cannot be used in such a way since they produce no characteristic phytoliths. Nevertheless, the presence of several indicators that could be at- tributed to fruits (high ratio of variable to consistent morphology phytoliths, high number of spheroids together with polyhedral phytoliths) may in certain contexts be helpful for identifying fruit despite the absence of characteristic phytoliths. Fruits and wood/bark share similar characteristics; they both showlowphytolith production, they have a high ratio of variable to consistent morphology phytoliths and among the latter the prevailing ones in both are the spheroids. Nevertheless since fruits and wood/bark are used in very different ways, i.e., wood is expected to be found in hearths while fruits are usually stored in vessels or other containers, it is unlikely that their similarities will be misleading in the archaeological record. Finally, among the monocotyledons analysed, only the grains of Triticum, as is known (Lentfer et al., 1997), have al- most no phytoliths. The lack of phytoliths in grains devoid of glumes in general implies that cereal phytoliths will not be found in large numbers in places where the grains were cleaned well. Nevertheless often in antiquity, grains were stored in their husks to reduce mildew and predation by bugs. The presence of cereal husks should leave tangible proof of their presence. 4.2. Plants that produce many phytoliths The main use of phytoliths preserved in the archaeological record to date is for identifying the use of specic plant taxa. This is based on identifying phytoliths with morphologies characteristic of the specic taxon. This approach is most applicable in plant groups that produce large amounts of phytoliths at many different anatomical locations. The well- known examples are among the grasses (Brown, 1984; Piperno, 1988; Twiss et al., 1969). The phytolith input of each part (husk or stem) of cereals or wild grasses, can be used for interpreting the use of a room or understanding past cultural practices, such as stabling, storing or grain pro- cessing (Rosen, 2000, 2005). The large difference in the phytolith concentrations between stems and husks of grasses can also be exploited. The recovery of large amounts of stem phytoliths and no husk phytoliths in a room, for exam- ple, can indicate that it was used as a barn for storing fodder or a stable. In areas where dung accumulated, large amounts of phytoliths can be expected, provided that the animals were fed the whole plant. If only the stems of certain cereals and wild grasses that contain relatively few phytoliths were used as fodder, this would deplete the phytolith record signi- cantly. In addition dung from goats, animals that prefer leaves in their diet, may also contain small amounts of phytoliths given that many dicot leaves do not contain large amounts of phytoliths. This was the case in Arene Candide cave, where stabling activities were investigated through micromorpholog- ical analysis. It was found that leaf foddering produced almost phytolith-free sediments (Macphail et al., 1997). Apart from phytoliths, the identication of dung of certain herbivors can be complemented with the identication of dung spheru- lites produced in the stomach of some herbivors mainly rumi- nants and deposited in the soil together with the dung (Canti, 1997, 1998, 1999). The lamination of the sediments observed through micromorphological analyses, together with the iden- tication of phytoliths types and spherulites, can be used to- gether for recognizing dung remains (Shahack-Gross et al., 2005). 4.3. Phytoliths with unique properties A potentially very interesting archaeological application that arises from this study is the possible identication of change of climate (wet conditions) or ancient irrigation based on the presence of jigsaw puzzle phytoliths. These were observed in leaves of trees and shrubs in Greece, but not in Is- rael, and could be related to climatic differences. They are also observed in irrigated annual legumes. Therefore, the presence of jigsaw puzzle-shaped phytoliths in sites where a palaeocli- matic study shows that arid conditions prevailed, could be at- tributed to irrigation of legumes. The presence of characteristic phytoliths of Vitex agnus castus inorescence imply that Vitex branches were used in an archaeological site. It may also imply a certain cultural behaviour, since chaste tree branches have been used from antiquity to the present for mats and basketry due to their ex- ibility (Bostock and Riley, 1855; Pollunin, 1969). The name Vitex comes from the Latin verb vieo, which means to bend, or to weave. Homer and other ancient Greek writers refer often to the Vitex branches as constructive material for mats, baskets 1273 G. Tsartsidou et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1262e1275 and other structures and imprints of it have been detected in Greek prehistoric sites (Beloyanni, 1995). Finally the unique characteristics of cereal husks serve as indicators of the staples (wheat, barley, oats and rye) used in ancient settlements and may constitute the key to understand- ing past agricultural economies. A study of this kind has been conducted in an Indian Neolithic site aimed at understanding agricultural production and utilization of its products (Harvey and Fuller, 2004). 4.4. Reconstructing the amounts of plant types used at a site Taking into account the variable extents of phytolith pro- duction in plants, Albert et al. (2000, 2003) used the Israeli reference collection to assess the relative amounts of grasses, leaves and wood/bark that were brought into Hayonim and Kebara Caves. This was done using not only the known re- lations between dry plant weights and phytolith amounts, but also by distributing the phytolith morphotypes that are present in two or more of these groups according to their known distributions in the modern reference collection. Thus for example, the presence of one aliquot of ash of grass phytoliths is roughly equivalent to the presence of 20 ali- quots of ash of wood/bark phytoliths, based on their refer- ence collection (Albert et al., 2000). In this more extensive reference collection the relative proportions of phytoliths from ash of grass compared to ash of wood/bark phytoliths is around 40. Information on the relative amounts of grasses, leaves and wood/bark used by the occupants of a given site, can certainly shed light on human behaviour patterns partic- ularly in the prehistoric periods. 4.5. Using phytoliths for regional studies The comparison of the two reference collections from the Mediterranean region shows that in general the amounts of phytoliths produced by different plant taxa, are genetically controlled. The inuence of climate can be detected, but appears in this case to be secondary. This means that one quan- titative reference collection may be useful for the entire Mediterranean region. We thus propose that such regional reference collections be produced. This would greatly facili- tate phytolith studies in this archaeologically important region. 5. Conclusions The quantitative and morphological analysis of phytoliths from modern plants highlights some of the strengths and weaknesses when decoding the archaeological phytolith re- cord. In general, the phytolith record is the most robust and informative source of information available on the botanical archaeological record. This information is much enhanced by the availability of a reference collection of modern plants that includes information on the morphotypes as well as the numbers of phytoliths per unit weight of the plant. Acknowledgements We thank Ali Sinap for his invaluable information on the use of plants by the inhabitants of Rhodope mountain. We also thank Ofer Bar-Yosef for his help with the initial sample collection, as well as Gordon Hillman and Dorian Fuller for their help in the identication of Hynaldia villosa and Stipa bromoides. We thank Mr George Schwartzmann, Sarasota, Florida, for his generous nancial support. We also thank the Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science for their nan- cial support. S.W. is the incumbent of the Dr Trude Burchardt professorial chair of Structural Biology. 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