Catalhoynk Archaeobotany Procedures

www.escholarship.org/uc/item/07s547kn Catalhoynk Archaeobotany Procedures. 2/22/99 Christine Hastorf and Julie Near On Site: Regular samples: The sampling strategy for the 1999 field season should be to collect a sample from all excavated units with matrix using bulk soil collection. In units containing midden or other secondary, mixed soil riiatrices, a scatter sample is requested in addition to the bulk sample. Ideally these samples should be 30 liters. In certain excavation units primarily floor contexts, several soil samples from the same unit are taken for flotation. They receive different sample numbers. These have been taken at one meter intervals across the unit. Many of the units were not large enough to provide the target volume, thus the range of sample sizes turn up. It is of value to discuss this with the excavators at the beginning of the field season. Field priorities: Get choosen on site tours called specialist tours, choose units and samples together based on excavator and specialist interests, flag them, make sure that they get to the float machines, get them floated, dried, and $Orted ASAP (both light and heavy). Note in archaeobotanical notebook all units and floats chosen as field priorities, with their results, your synthesis, as well as other input and notes from the Jab. You will present your results o the tour. (give them several examples of our notes) Has a different process of sorting and form filling-see Field Sort below for details on this sorting strategy. Priority Tours What has been done in the past- -Samples that are to be discussed are field sorted and some information about each one is written down in the archaeobotany book for the discussion at the trench in a few days time. Usually each specialist gives a short report on the contents of the sample and what it might meart. We tend to include standardized densities of plant remains, including the heavy residue remains/densities of all artefacts categories. This gives the tour attendees comparable evidence. Then a discussion of each unit with the group and the excavators is conducted. You should take notes on the important points of this discussion below the botanical information for that tour. This provides a central place for information on these discussed units . -After the discussion, new choices are made for the following tour in a few days time. -Someone must take the resporisibility to tell Anja which samples have been chosen so she can add those unit numbers to the master list for the season. -Only units which have been finished - digging completed- should be selected, otherwise the flotation samples won't make it through the system in time for the tour. -Some samples are selected for priorities, but are not included in the group priority tour lists. For example, botanists like to know the units of the hearths or ovens even if they aren't going to be discussed on a group tour, and micro faunalists will always want to know about owl pellets. These additional priorities should also be recorded in the archaeobotany book. All notes will be kept in the one archaeobotany notebook. This will be senfaround with whomever is on the tour. All interesting archaeobotanical notes should be kept in this book. It will be a group effort. Sign or initial your entries if more than a small note. Screen botanicals: l