Creation of a Macrobotanical and Phytolith Reference Collection for Archaeobotanical Investigation in Tarvagatai Valley, Mongolia

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Limited ethno- and archaeobotanical studies have been conducted on the forest-steppe ecological zone of northern Mongolia. This project focuses on the creation of a macrobotanical and phytolith reference collection of flowering plants in this region as part of ongoing archaeobotanical research with the Tarvagatai Valley Project, particularly in the excavation of Mongol-era (1206-1500 CE) habitation sites. In the collection, special attention was paid to the medicinal properties and traditional uses of these plants to allow for the potential to make connections between archaeobotanical remains and medicinal utilization of various flora. In the field, 39 plants were selected and sampled; two samples of each plant were collected with the intent to preserve one sample in a macrobotanical herbarium and process the other for a permanent phytolith reference. During analysis of samples, 36 species were identified, the majority of which have recorded medicinal usage. While not a comprehensive sample of medicinal plants in northern Mongolia, this collection represents a step forward in identifying pastoralist use of wild plants.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 53423