Archaeobotany

Archaeobotany

The ISAS Archaeobotany Office is responsible for all phases of study involving botanical remains recovered from archaeological sites identified in conjunction with IDOT environmental impact surveys. Duties range from sample inventory through identification, interpretation, and report preparation. The objective of these studies is to better understand the histories of plant use by earlier residents of Illinois. The focus is not only on what plants were being used, but also on how and why these plants contributed to the economy, and by extension to culture and society.

The Archaeobotany Office is responsible for preparing and submitting non-collagen samples to the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) for radiometric dating, as well as for maintaining the database for dated samples, regardless of material type. Additionally, we maintain a database of analyzed ethnobotanical samples and curate those samples.

Squash, beans, cornMary Simon, woven matBurned maize kernels

Contact:
Mary Simon
 msimon1@illinois.edu
  (217) 333-0854