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Archaeobotany and cultural transformation: patterns of early plant utilisation in northern Wallacea


Type

Thesis

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Authors

Paz, Victor Joaquin 

Description

Archaeobotany is under-utilised as a tool and as an approach in Southeast Asia. In Island Southeast Asia, the studies of the past rely heavily on the ability of archaeology to generate data. Several key questions on early Island Southeast Asian history (prehistory) can be better addressed with a robust archaeobotanical data set. This research therefore had a two-pronged approach: one that dealt with the application and improvement of archaeobotanical methods; and another approach that addressed current archaeological issues from the standpoint of the archaeobotanical data. This work directly studied 10 archaeological sites, with 169 archaeobotanical contexts, not including data from 7 other sites. These comprise the sum-total of sites with published archaeobotanical data from northern Wallacea. The study advanced the archaeobotanical methodology in terms of macro remains and especially charred parenchymatous tissue determination in Island Southeast Asia. It equally addressed key issues of early Southeast Asian history, specifically questions concerning the nature of the Austronesian dispersal throughout northern Wallacea, and the cultural transformations that came after this dispersal. It has also focused on finding out if there is a correlation between the existence of neolithic pottery and cereal agriculture in northern Wallacea. The results of the study show no correlation. There is however direct evidence of archaeological settlements having a pottery-tuberlegume correlation. The data also shows evidence of consumption and utilisation of various plants throughout the time frame covered by the archaeological sites studied. The data suggest more arboreal-based economies existing even in periods where cereal agriculture is historically known to have exist in the region. Choosing as a limit for the study a biogeographic region proved useful as a tool to manage the analysis of the archaeobotanical data, suggest periods for deposition of these plant remains, and for assessing levels of security of archaeological stratigraphic layers.

Date

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Keywords

Qualification

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Awarding Institution

University of Cambridge