Palaeobotany and Environmental Archaeology
Course objectives
In consistency with the educational purposes of the whole teaching course, aim of the teaching unit is to give students knowledge and comprehension skills in the field of PALAEOBOTANY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY , that complete and/or reinforce those acquired in the first grade of studies. Moreover, it will make the students able to approach orginal themes in a research context, making more complex judgments, communicating knowledge and its process, and studying the subject in an independent and self-educational way. To gain a knowledge of various aspects of the relationship between human communities and plants used in the past in the Mediterranean area, through the identification and interpretation of archaeobotanical remains from various archaeological sites with different ages and environmental contexts.
Channel 1
ALESSANDRA CELANT
Lecturers' profile
Program - Frequency - Exams
Course program
- Aims and scope of palaeobotanical research and environmental archaeology.
- Conservation and taphonomy of plant remains: micro- and macrofossils, unaltered, mummified, mineralized, and carbonized plant remains. Imprints and compressions of plant fossils.
- Sampling techniques for lake sediments and archaeological contexts: planning and implementation.
- Identification of fossil wood, leaves, cuticles, algae, carpological remains, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, and phytoliths. Data collection and management.
- Interpretation of pollen sequences. Reconstruction of past flora, vegetation, climate, and land use. Pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs as climate and environmental indicators. Human impact on past natural landscapes.
- Wood in archaeological contexts: spatial and functional interpretation.
- Naval archaeobotany and integrated paleobotanical research. Dendrochronology.
- Archaeocarpology. Plant domestication: timing and methods of crop initiation.
Prerequisites
No prerequisites are required
Books
Handouts of the lectures will be given by the teacher during the course, available in the elearning platform of Sapienza University.
Information for not attending students: please contact the lecturer via e-mail (alessandra.celant@uniroma1.it) to agree the program during her office hours (monday h. 10-12, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Laboratorio di Paleobotanica e Palinologia, III piano, lab. n. 308).
Teaching mode
the course includes lectures + practical laboratory sessions.
The course will take place in the first semester: if the COVID-19 health emergency will allow the lessons to be held in person, the course will be delivered in the traditional way, otherwise it will be delivered remotely in accordance with what will be established by the competent authorities and by the provisions of the University.
Frequency
Attendance is strongly recommended, above all for the laboratory activities.
Exam mode
To pass the exam, a grade of at least 18/30 is required. Students must demonstrate sufficient knowledge in the identification of plant fossils, the reconstruction of past plant landscapes, the origin and spread of agriculture, and the interpretation of palaeobotanical data in palaeoenvironmental terms and in relation to human activity. The exam includes the identification of plant fossils and an oral exam on the topics covered in the course.
Lesson mode
The course consists of lectures (40 hours) and laboratory exercises (2 hours) using microscopes.
ALESSANDRA CELANT
Lecturers' profile
Program - Frequency - Exams
Course program
- Aims and scope of palaeobotanical research and environmental archaeology.
- Conservation and taphonomy of plant remains: micro- and macrofossils, unaltered, mummified, mineralized, and carbonized plant remains. Imprints and compressions of plant fossils.
- Sampling techniques for lake sediments and archaeological contexts: planning and implementation.
- Identification of fossil wood, leaves, cuticles, algae, carpological remains, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, and phytoliths. Data collection and management.
- Interpretation of pollen sequences. Reconstruction of past flora, vegetation, climate, and land use. Pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs as climate and environmental indicators. Human impact on past natural landscapes.
- Wood in archaeological contexts: spatial and functional interpretation.
- Naval archaeobotany and integrated paleobotanical research. Dendrochronology.
- Archaeocarpology. Plant domestication: timing and methods of crop initiation.
Prerequisites
No prerequisites are required
Books
Handouts of the lectures will be given by the teacher during the course, available in the elearning platform of Sapienza University.
Information for not attending students: please contact the lecturer via e-mail (alessandra.celant@uniroma1.it) to agree the program during her office hours (monday h. 10-12, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Laboratorio di Paleobotanica e Palinologia, III piano, lab. n. 308).
Teaching mode
the course includes lectures + practical laboratory sessions.
The course will take place in the first semester: if the COVID-19 health emergency will allow the lessons to be held in person, the course will be delivered in the traditional way, otherwise it will be delivered remotely in accordance with what will be established by the competent authorities and by the provisions of the University.
Frequency
Attendance is strongly recommended, above all for the laboratory activities.
Exam mode
To pass the exam, a grade of at least 18/30 is required. Students must demonstrate sufficient knowledge in the identification of plant fossils, the reconstruction of past plant landscapes, the origin and spread of agriculture, and the interpretation of palaeobotanical data in palaeoenvironmental terms and in relation to human activity. The exam includes the identification of plant fossils and an oral exam on the topics covered in the course.
Lesson mode
The course consists of lectures (40 hours) and laboratory exercises (2 hours) using microscopes.
- Lesson code1036472
- Academic year2025/2026
- CourseArchaeology
- CurriculumArcheologia e civiltà del medioevo
- Year2nd year
- Duration12 months
- SSDBIO/02
- CFU6