EAA2021: Abstract

The archaeological site of Heping Dao (northeast Taiwan) has produced relevant information about the ephemeral material culture related to the day-to-day life of the Japanese occupation of the island. The exceptional preservation of organic remains by water saturation has provided the opportunity of developing a multidisciplinary study. The study of a set of wooden remains dated to mid-20th century including the base of a bucket or a small cask, a takamakura, a koma geta and other items of unknown function has provided the opportunity of combining wood analysis, and morpho-technological studies with phytolith identification. The base of the wooden container preserved an organic adherence in the inner part which contained plant macro-remains visible at naked eye (Cucurbitaceae seeds) and phytoliths. This case study highlights the relevance of integrated archaeobotanical studies in colonial contexts to address aspects related to the daily life of these communities such as food storage or consumption but also about objects, wood, and identities

Phytoliths, Seed analysis, Wood analysis, Vegetation, Crafts, Taiwan

 Abstract (PDF)

Alexandre Chevalier¹

María Martín-Seijo²
Elena Serrano Herrero²
Chenghwa Tsang³
María Cruz Berrocal²