In archaeology, a biofact (or ecofact) is organic material found at an archaeological site that carries archaeological significance. [3] Pollen, when examined over time, also informs on environmental and dietary changes. © 2015 Springer Biofacts are natural objects found alongside artifacts or features, such as animal bones, charcoal, plants, and pollen. [3] Pollen preserved on archaeological sites informs researchers about the ancient environment, and the foods processed and/or grown by prehistoric people. A common type of biofact is a plant seed. We synthesize Mesoamerican paleoethnobotanical studies that have gone beyond descriptions of subsistence economies, reconstructions of ecological systems, or static lists of identified plant remains. JSTOR is part of ITHAKA, a not-for-profit organization helping the academic community use digital technologies to preserve the scholarly record and to advance research and teaching in sustainable ways. Request Permissions. …Even phosphates or other chemicals in the soil are ecofacts showing … physics, engineering, mathematics, computer sciences, and economics. We end with a consideration of additional pathways toward a social paleoethnobotany, which includes contributions to understanding materiality, past gender relations, environmental knowledge, and the effect of scale on analysis and interpretations. This essay examines the relationship between social archaeology and paleoethnobotany in Mesoamerica, a region where paleoethnobotanical research has been growing rapidly. Pulling on current trends in Mesoamerican paleoethnobotany, we show how these social archaeological topics have been addressed via studies of political ecology and ritual. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Biofact_(archaeology)&oldid=921700311, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 17 October 2019, at 10:04. Select the purchase As with others i do not recognise the term chronofact, but perhaps it applies to structures that record he passage of time such as tree rings, growth rings in shell or bone, varves, or archaeological layers. 3,000 new books annually, covering a wide range of subjects including biomedicine and the life sciences, clinical medicine, Springer is one of the leading international scientific publishing companies, publishing over 1,200 journals and more than Animal bones left for dinner or pollen from gathered plants are ecofacts. There are many examples of ecofacts, and a rather iconic ecofact is the mosquito stuck in the tree sap, most recognized in the film Jurassic Park. Another type of biofact is wood. Wood is made up cellulose, carbohydrates, and lignin. [4] Charcoal is burned wood that archaeologist are able to extract. Biofacts reveal how people respond to their surroundings.[1]. [2] Biofacts are passively consumed or handled by humans; as opposed to artifacts, which are purposefully manipulated. [5] To help determine the date during which a site was occupied, dendrochronological analysis can be used on wood samples. Wagner, G. A. All Rights Reserved. ©2000-2020 ITHAKA. Structures are arrangements (or rather re-arrangements) of objects carried out (generally) by humans. There are two terms you might have … option. JSTOR®, the JSTOR logo, JPASS®, Artstor®, Reveal Digital™ and ITHAKA® are registered trademarks of ITHAKA. 2009, Nancy Marie White, Archaeology For Dummies, part 1 Archaeology: Seeing Past People Today, chapter 1 What Archaeology Is, page 12: Ecofact is a term archaeologists invented to classify natural objects used by humans without modification. paleoethnobotanical efforts to move beyond the ecofact. Seeds, pollen, animal bone, insects, fish bones, and mollusks are all ecofacts; the category includes both inorganic and organic ecofacts. Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice (5th ed., pp. Where? More than a bibliographic essay, each article creates a framework for synthesizing findings, offers incisive commentary on previous work, and identifies research priorities. I think people feel a strange connection to bones because we have a fascination with death. Login via your Future advances in social paleoethnobotany are contingent upon methodological innovations in data sampling, quantification, analysis, and integration. We then present examples of research conducted by paleoethnobotanists that have dealt with issues of political ecology and ritual - theoretical areas where paleoethnobotany in Mesoamerica has most meshed with social archaeology. It can be dated through the use of the method known as carbon-14 and reveal information that exposes environmental information from coal. Biofacts are passively consumed or handled by humans; as opposed to artifacts, which are purposefully manipulated. Berlin: Springer. All cultures have certain burial practices and beliefs regarding death but for some reason most people would be more shocked and excited to discover bones on their property (ecofacts) rather than a stone wall (feature) surrounding a … These paleoethnobotanical investigations, we argue, transcend the ecofact to shed light on how human-plant interaction was connected to power, agency, societal structures, and normative constraints—fundamental foci of research in social archaeology. [3] A seed can be linked to the species of plant that produced it; if massive numbers of seeds of a cultivated species are found at a site, it may be inferred that the species may have been grown for food or other products that are useful to humans, such as clothing, bedding or building materials. Plant remains, often referred to as macrobotanicals, provide a variety of information ranging from diet to medicine to textile production. Renfrew & Bahn(2008). Biofacts are natural objects found alongside artifacts or features,[1] such as animal bones, charcoal, plants, and pollen. Access supplemental materials and multimedia. [4] Every year that passes, a new ring is added to the trunk of tree, allowing for dendrochronological dating. An ecofact is a find at an archaeological site which comes from something living, but which has not been modified by human activity. An ecofact is a natural object presumably of a biological origin. This item is part of JSTOR collection Christopher T. Morehart and Shanti Morell-Hart, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory. Examples are wheat seeds, sheep bones, or seashells at inland sites. In archaeology, a biofact (or ecofact) is organic material found at an archaeological site that carries archaeological significance. Next, we stress how social paleoethnobotany depends on method-ological rigor regarding sampling, … Biofacts reveal how people respond to their surroundings. (1998). Sources: Origins Manual page 11 http://www.archaeologywordsmith.com/lookup.php?terms=ecofact Survey and Excavation of Sites and Features. 73-120). The journal includes articles on the history of archaeology, method- or theory-focused case studies, and significant explorations on the cutting edge. Check out using a credit card or bank account with. Another example is the excavation of bones, either human or animal. Read your article online and download the PDF from your email or your account. For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions Finds like these tell us something about the diet, way of life, or culture of the people who lived there. Written by experts, the articles benefit an international audience of archaeologists, students of archaeology, and practitioners of closely related disciplines. London: Thames & Hudson. An example of ecofact is wood. [5] It can be dated using carbon-14, and through other methods, information such as local environment and human adaptation can be revealed from the charcoal. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory presents timely and authoritative 'topical syntheses', original articles that critically assess and integrate research on a specific subject in archaeological method or theory. Wood that has been altered by humans is properly an artifact, not a biofact. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory ecofact CATEGORY: flora; fauna DEFINITION: Any flora or fauna material found at an archaeological site; nonartifactual evidence that has not been technologically altered but that has cultural relevance, such as a shell carried from the ocean to an inland settlement. Found organic material of archaeological significance. Age Determination of Young Rocks and artifacts: physical and chemical clocks in Quaternary geology and archaeology. institution. Organic ecofacts are ecofacts that are the remains of an organism that was once living.