Archaeobotany

Archaeobotany studies the relationships between human groups and plants through the analysis of plant remains recovered from archaeological contexts.

It includes the study of micro-remains, visible under the light microscope: spores and grains of pollen (palynology) as well as phytoliths; and the study of macro-remains visible to the naked eye: seeds and fruits (carpology) and charcoals (anthracology).

Amongst its multiple applications, archaeobotany allows to characterize the vegetation of the palaeoenvironments and their transformation over time, to reconstruct the temporal and climatic phases, to understand the types of exploitation and the management of forest resources (more particularly the gathering of firewood, construction wood, etc.), to describe the plant economy of ancient societies, i. e. diet, fodder, craft (fiber, dye plants), medicinal plants, etc.