Plant microfossil analysis of middle woodland food residues, northern Minnesota

Abstract

Northern Minnesota lies within the southern edge of the Boreal Forest and, as a result, archaeological sites in this region typically have poor organic preservation and thin, disturbed, stratigraphy. For this reason, little is known about specific plant foods and their importance at many sites. In order to fill this gap, my research focuses on the extraction of plant microfossils (starch, phytoliths and pollen) from carbonized and non- carbonized food residues associated with Middle Woodland (100 BC – AD 500) components. My results show that wild rice was widely consumed during this time along with cultigens such as maize. No additional evidence suggested farming, so there is a possibility of trade with periphery groups to acquire the cultigens recovered from the microfossil analysis. These results demonstrate the importance of plant microfossil studies as a tool for identifying subtle evidence of wild and domesticated plants in regions characterized by poor organic preservation, small seasonally-occupied sites and other fundamental limitations. The mixed economic strategy apparent in some Northern Minnesota sites re-defines a diet of native and domesticated cultigens, which can be applied to the wider archaeobotanical literature of northeastern North America.