IMAA 2019 Saturday 16th February 2019
9.00-9.30 Registration in the Archaeology Atrium
9.30-9.45 Welcome (Sorby Room, Wager Building)
Theme: Ethnographic approaches in archaeobotany
Chair Rowena Banerjea, UoR
9.45 Sarah E. Edwards, Honorary Research Associate UCL School of Pharmacy; Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford
Methodological concerns: the politics and ethics of ethnobiology research
10.00 Marta Portillo, Visiting research fellow, Dept. of Archaeology, University of Reading,
The taphonomy of plant and dung microfossils through ethnoarchaeological and experimental approaches
10.15-10.30 Questions and discussion
10.30-10.45 Coffee (Sorby Room)
Theme: Experiencing woodlands past and present
Chair Cathie Barnett, UoR
10.45 Alex Brown, Wessex Archaeology
Woodland as a window on the medieval cultural landscape: the example of the Forest of Sztum, Northern Poland
11.00 Dan Young, Quaternary Scientific (QUEST), University of Reading The early Lateglacial Interstadial environment in Britain: evidence of alder (Alnus glutinosa [L.] Gaertn.) in the Vale of Mowbray, North Yorkshire, UK
Theme: Wetlands as palaeobotanical archives
Chair Dan Young, UoR
11.15 Luke Andrews, University of York
How faithfully do climate manipulation experiments simulate real periods of climate change?
11.30 Rob Batchelor, Quaternary Scientific (QUEST), University of Reading
Reconstructing the vegetation history of Greater London
11.45-12.15 Questions and discussion
12.15 Lunch & Poster viewing (Archaeology Atrium)
During the lunch break, there will also be an opportunity (weather permitting) to go on the Whiteknights Tree Walk on campus. Please bring a waterproof coat and appropriate shoes if you would like to go. http://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/Grounds/Whiteknights_Tree_Walk_Oct_2014.pdf
13.30-15.15 Microscopy session: charcoal and charred remains
Organisers Cathie Barnett, UoR, and Koen Deforce, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, OD Earth and History of Life
Including a short talk by Lara Gonzalez Carretero, UCL Institute of Archaeology; Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA)
Micro-analysis of archaeological food products under binocular microscope and Scanning Electronic Microscope (SEM)
15.00-17.00 Tea/Coffee will be available in the Sorby Room
15.00-16.00 Discussion
Round table discussion of phytolith extraction methods
15.15-17.30 Microscopy session: wetlands
Organiser Dan Young, UoR
Including a short talk by Petra Dark, Visiting research fellow, Dept. of Archaeology, University of Reading
Pollen analysis as an indicator of wetland site degradation: perspectives from 6o years of pollen analysis at Star Carr
17.30-19.00 Drinks reception and poster viewing (Archaeology Atrium)
19.30 Dinner (Sizzling Spice, Christchurch Rd)
IMAA 2019 Sunday 17th February 2019
9.30-10.00 Registration (Archaeology Atrium)
Theme: Taphonomy of macro and microbotanical assemblages
Chair Rowena Banerjea, UoR
10.00 Phillip Jardine, Research Associate, Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, University of Münster
Chemical analysis of pollen and spores: a new tool for reconstructing past vegetation and environmental change
10.15 Luc Vrydaghs, CReA-patrimoine, Univeristé Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels. Belgium
Comparing phytolith analysis of bulk samples and soil thin sections. Preliminary results of a statistical analysis
10.30 Chioma Ngonadi, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge
Microscopic analysis of plant resources from an Early Iron Working site in Southeastern- Nigeria.
10.45 Juan José García-Granero, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellow, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford
Starch taphonomy, equifinality and the importance of context: some notes on the identification of food processing through starch grain analysis
11.00-11.15 Questions and Discussion
11.15-11.30 Coffee (Sorby Room)
11.30 Wendy Matthews, Dept. of Archaeology, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading
Macro and micro-botanical diversity and taphonomy: New insights into built environment sustainability and health
Theme: Plant Use in the Middle Ages
Chair Josie Handley
11.45 Rowena Banerjea, Dept. of Archaeology, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading
Differential preservation of plant remains and organic materials within the buried archaeology at medieval castle sites across Europe
12.00 Koen Deforce, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, OD Earth and History of Life
Plant remains in medieval burials. Taphonomic constrains and archaeobotanical potential.
12.15-12.30 Questions
12.30-13.30 Lunch and Poster viewing (Archaeology Atrium)
13.30-15.00 Microscopy Session: Context is Key
Organiser Rowena Banerjea, UoR
Including a short talk by Kelly Reed, University of Oxford
Sample or not to sample: archaeobotanical remains from funerary and ritual contexts
15.00-15.15 Tea/Coffee (Sorby Room)
15.15-16.30 Discussion Session: Environmental archives
Organiser Paul Flintoft, UoR
Including a short talk by Lisa Lodwick, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, All Souls College, University of Oxford
Utilising archived archaeobotanical archives for isotopic investigations of past farming practice
15.15-16.30 Microscope free time in G08, Allen Lab
16.30 Workshop ends
