The sausage-shaped structures on bulrush (Typha latifolia) are made of millions of closely packed flowers. In autumn, they fall apart into a mass of fluff, made up of tiny seeds which drift in the wind on fine hairs.
A plant with many uses
Bulrush is a remarkably versatile plant: the shoots can be eaten as a vegetable, the roots can be ground to a flour, the leaves can be used to make paper, and the stems can be used to make fibres which, depending on the treatment, can be used for building materials or textiles. There is evidence that Stone Age humans made flour from the roots over 30,000 years ago in Italy.
Coastal hunter-gatherers collected bulrush and other plants to weave items needed for a marine economy, including looped bags, nets, twined mats, fishing lines and string for tying stone tool-heads to wooden handles.
Examining textiles under high-power microscopes allows Camila to identify the plants from which they were made.
Examining ancient artefacts
Hunter-gatherers left no written records of their culture, so we need to use microscopy to identify plants in the archaeological record. Analysis of tools and textiles uncovered during archaeological digs gives evidence of sophisticated ecological knowledge among South American communities dating as far back as 11,000 years ago.
Camila Alday (Department of Archaeology)
Camila’s research focusses on early weaving practices in South America, aiming to discover how inherited ecological knowledge helped people to develop and sustain a long-term textile industry. Investigating the relationship between textile plants and hunter-gatherers in South America has prompted her to develop a new avenue of research on early plant management for textiles.
Next: Ana Gatóo (Himalayan birch)
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