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 The Fifth International Workshop for African Archaeobotany will be held 2-5 July, 2006
at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. For scheduled papers and absracts select days below.

 

IWAA 5

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Abstract

Phytoliths and macroremains from Oursi hu-beero, a medieval house complex

Fahmy, A. G-E-D.(1), Höhn, A.(2) & Kahlheber, S.(2)
1Cairo, Egypt
2 Frankfurt, Germany

In the last decades a number of archaeological sites bordering the mare d'Oursi in Northern Burkina Faso have been excavated and sampled for plant remains, ranging from Late Stone Age to historical times. Most of them were settlement mounds with botanical finds dispersed within the settlement debris. Only the site Oursi hu-beero offered the opportunity to analyse plant remains from well-defined structures.
Oursi hu-beero consists of several houses belonging to a large compound constructed in several building phases. Due to an accidental fire event dating to around 1000 AD the houses and their inventory are excellently preserved in-situ, a circumstance which rarely occurs in West African archaeological contexts. Thus, it is possible to assign plant remains to distinct structures and activity zones within the dwelling and to identify their utilisation and function. In this respect, charcoal, fruits and seeds have been investigated. Additionally, phytolith analysis was applied to precise identification of manufactured plant products.


 

 

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Last modified: 1/6/06