Changing Plant Economies and Diverse Plant Practices at Piedras Negras

Summary

Botanical residues recovered from the Piedras Negras kingdom have yielded rich information about activities and economies of ancient inhabitants. Data for this paper were derived from large-scale excavations targeting Classic Period craft production areas, defensive features, and dwellings. Evidence of agricultural practices as well as the collection of wild and fallow-dwelling plants has been revealed through charred seeds and other botanical residues. The recovered archaeobotanical remains indicate the use of several typical economic species, as well as a range of uncommon plants that may have been used for various purposes including medicine, ornament, and trade. Moreover, the distribution of species across the landscape informs our understandings of place-making in terms of distinctiveness or overlap in activities at individual loci. The diversity of practices represented by the botanical remains adds nuance to traditional paradigms of Classic Period ethnoecology and economy in the Usumacinta region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20191