Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Microbotanical and Macrobotanical Evidence of Plant Use and the Transition to Agriculture in Panama

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Integrating Zooarchaeology and Paleoethnobotany

Abstract

Many studies over the past few decades have demonstrated the importance of using multiple lines of data when studying ancient plant use in a given region. This is especially true in the humid tropics, where plant taxonomic diversity is high and organic preservation is often poor due to accelerated rates of biological and chemical decay. The post-depositional preservation of each major type of botanical artifact – macrobotanical remains, phytoliths, pollen, and starch grains – is affected differently by human behavior and natural factors (see Wright, this volume). Therefore, using several techniques for identifying plant remains significantly improves the chances of reconstructing a more inclusive paleoethnobotanical record because the taxonomic assemblages generated by each technique can be considerably different.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Barrett, Bruce. 1994. Medicinal Plants of Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast. Economic Botany 48(1):8–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bartlett, Alexandra S., and Elso S. Barghoorn. 1973. Phytogeographic History of the Isthmus of Panama During the Past 12,000 Years. In Vegetation and Vegetational History of Northern Latin America, edited by Alan H. Graham, pp. 203–299. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartlett, Alexandra S., Elso S. Barghoorn and Rainer Berger. 1969. Fossil Maize from Panama. Science 165:389–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behling, Hermann. 2000. A 2860-year High-Resolution Pollen and Charcoal Record from the Cordillera de Talamanca in Panama: A History of Human and Volcanic Forest Disturbance. Holocene 10(3):387–393.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bird, Robert McK. 1984. South American Maize in Central America? In Pre-Columbian Plant Migration, edited by Doris Z. Stone, pp. 40–65. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology 76. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brücher, Heinz. 1988. Useful Plants of Neotropical Origin and Their Wild Relatives. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bush, Mark B., and Paul A. Colinvaux. 1994. Tropical Forest Disturbance: Paleoecological Records from Darien, Panama. Ecology 75(6):1761–1768.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Camacho-Zamora, Jose A. 1983. Ethnobotanica Cabecar. America Indigena 43(1):57–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Case, Ryan J., Arthur O. Tucker, Michael J. Maciarello and Kraig A. Wheeler. 2003. Chemistry and Ethnobotany of Commercial Incense Copals, Copal Blanco, Copal Oro, and Copal Negro, of North America. Economic Botany 57(2):189–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clary, Karen H. 1980. The Identification of Selected Pollen Grains from a Core at Isla Palenque. In Adaptive Radiations in Prehistoric Panama, edited by Olga F. Linares and Anthony J. Ranere, pp. 488–490. Peabody Museum Monographs, No. 5. Harvard University, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clement, Rachel M., and Sally P. Horn. 2001. Pre-Columbian Land-Use History in Costa Rica: A 3000-Year Record of Forest Clearance, Agriculture and Fires from Laguna Zoncho. Holocene 11(4):419–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, Richard G. 1977. Los Recursos Arqueologicos de la Regíon de Hornito, Provincia de Chiriquí (20 al 27 de abril, 1976). In Evaluacíon Ambiental y Efectos del Proyecto Hidroeléctrico Fortuna: Informe Final, edited by Abdiel J. Adames, pp. 413–444. Revista Lotería, Laboratorio Commemorativo Gorgas, Panama.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, Richard G. 1979. Los Impactos de las Comunidades Agrícolas Precolombinas en Los Ambientes del Trópico Estacional: Datos del Panamá Prehistórico. In Actas del IV Simposio Internacional de Ecología Tropical, Vol. 3, pp. 919–973, Panamá.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, Richard G. 1984. Archaeological Research in Central and Eastern Panama: A Review of Some Problems. In The Archaeology of Lower Central America, edited by Frederick W. Lange and Doris Z. Stone, pp. 263–303. SAR. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, Richard G. 1992. Etapas Tempranas de la Producción de Alimentos Vegetales en la Baja Centroamérica y Partes de Colombia (Región Histórica Chibcha-Chocó). Revista de Arqueología Americana 6:35–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, Richard G. 1995. Monagrillo, Panama’s First Pottery (3800–1200 cal bc): Summary of Research (1948–1993), with New Interpretations of Chronology, Subsistence and Cultural Geography. In The Emergence of Pottery: Technology and Innovation in Ancient Societies, edited by William K. Barnett and John W. Hoopes, pp. 169–184. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, Richard G. 2005. Prehistory of Native Americans on the Central American Land-bridge: Colonization, Dispersal, and Divergence. Journal of Archaeological Research 13(2):129–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, Richard G., Illean Isaza, John C. Griggs, Benoit Desjardins and Luis A. Sánchez. 2003a. Who Crafted, Exchanged, and Displayed Gold in Pre-Columbian Panama? In Gold and Power in Ancient Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia, edited by Jeffrey Quilter and John W. Hoopes, pp. 91–158. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, Richard G., and Julia Mayo. 2005. La Industria Prehispánica de Conchas Marinas en Gran Coclé, Panamá: Análisis Tecnológico de los Artefactos de Concha del Basurero-Taller del sitio Cerro Juan Díaz, Los Santos, Panamá. Archaeofauna 14:285–298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, Richard G., and Anthony J. Ranere. 1992a. The Origin of Wealth and Hierarchy in the Central Region of Panama (12,000-2,000 BP). In Wealth and Hierarchy in the Intermediate Area, edited by Frederick W. Lange, pp. 243–316. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, Richard G., and Anthony J. Ranere. 1992b. Prehistoric Human Adaptations to the Seasonally Dry Forests of Panama. World Archaeology 24(1):114–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, Richard G., and Anthony J. Ranere. 1999. Precolombian Fishing on the Pacific Coast of Panama. In Pacific Latin America in Prehistory: The Evolution of Archaic and Formative Cultures, edited by Michael Blake, pp. 103–121. Washington State University Press, Pullman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, Richard G., and Luis Alberto Sanchéz. 2004. Las Sociedades Originarias: Capítulo I: Panamá Prehispánico. In Historia General de Panamá, Volumen I, Tomo II, edited by Alfredo Castillero Calvo, pp. 3–46. Comité Nacional del Centenario de la República de Panamá, Panama City.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, Richard G., Luis A. Sánchez, Diana Carvajal, John C. Griggs and Illean Isaza. 2003b. Los Pueblos Indígenas de Panamá durante el Siglo XVI: Transformaciones Sociales y Culturales desde una Perspectiva Arqueológica y Paleoecológica. Mesoamérica 45:1–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Arcy, William G. 1987. Flora of Panama Checklist and Index, Part I: The Introduction and Checklist. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dickau, Ruth. 2005. Resource Use, Crop Dispersals, and the Transition to Agriculture in Prehistoric Panama: Evidence from Starch Grains and Macroremains. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Temple University, Philadelphia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dickau, Ruth, Anthony J. Ranere and Richard G. Cooke. 2007. Starch Grain Evidence for the Preceramic Dispersals of Maize and Root Crops into Tropical Dry and Humid Forests of Panama. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 104(9):3651–3656.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Espinosa, Gaspar de. 1994. Relación del Proceso quel Licenciado Gaspar de Espinosa, Alcalde Mayor Hizo Enviado por el Muy Magnifico Señor Pedrarias Davila desde esta Ciudad a las Provincias de Nata e Paris e a las otras Provincias Comarcanas. In Indios y Negros en Panamá en los Siglos XVI y XVI. Selecciones de los Documentos del Archivo General de Indias, edited by Carol F. Jopling, pp. 58–61. Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica Antigua, Guatemala y Plumsock Mesoamerican Studies, South Woodstock, Vermont.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galinat, Walton. 1980. The Archaeological Maize Remains from Volcan Panama – A Comparative Perspective. In Adaptive Radiations in Prehistoric Panama, edited by Olga F. Linares and Anthony J. Ranere, pp. 175–180. Peabody Museum Monographs, No. 5. Harvard University, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griggs, John C. 2005. The Archaeology of Central Caribbean Panama. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haberland, Wolfgang. 1962. The Scarified Ware and the Early Cultures of Chiriqui (Panama). Akten des 34x Internationalen Amerikanistenkongresses (Wien, 1960), vol. 1, pp. 381–389. Verlag Ferdinand Berger, Horn-Wien.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haberland, Wolfgang. 1984. The Archaeology of Greater Chiriquí. In The Archaeology of Lower Central America, edited by Frederick W. Lange and Doris Z. Stone, pp. 233–262. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansell, Patricia K. 1987. The Formative in Central Pacific Panama: La Mula-Sarigua. In Chiefdoms in the Americas, edited by Robert D. Drennan and Carlos A. Uribe, pp. 119–140. University Press of America, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, Andrew, Gloria Galeano and Rodrigo Bernal. 1995. Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. Princeton University Press, Princeton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kainer, Karen A., and Mary L. Duryea. 1992. Tapping Women’s Knowledge: Plant Resource Use in Extractive Reserves, Acre, Brazil. Economic Botany 46(4):408–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linares, Olga F. 1968. Cultural Chronology of the Gulf of Chiriquí, Panama. Smithsonian Contributions in Anthropology 8:1–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linares, Olga F. 1977. Adaptive Strategies in Western Panama. World Archaeology 8:304–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linares, Olga F. 1980a. The Ceramic Record: Time and Place. In Adaptive Radiations in Prehistoric Panama, edited by Olga F. Linares and A. J. Ranere, pp. 81–117. Peabody Museum Monographs, No. 5. Harvard University, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linares, Olga F. 1980b. Conclusions. In Adaptive Radiations in Prehistoric Panama, edited by O. F. Linares and Anthony J. Ranere, pp. 233–247. Peabody Museum Monographs, No. 5. Harvard University, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linares, Olga F. 1980c. Ecology and Prehistory of the Aguacate Peninsula in Bocas del Toro. In Adaptive Radiations in Prehistoric Panama, edited by Olga F. Linares and Anthony J. Ranere, pp. 57–66. Peabody Museum Monographs, No. 5. Harvard University, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linares, Olga F. 1980d. Ecology and Prehistory of the Chiriquí Gulf Sites. In Adaptive Radiations in Prehistoric Panama, edited by Olga F. Linares and Anthony J. Ranere, pp. 67–77. Peabody Museum Monographs, No. 5. Harvard University, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linares, Olga F., and Anthony J. Ranere (editors). 1980. Adaptive Radiations in Prehistoric Panama. Peabody Museum Monographs, No. 5. Harvard University, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linares, Olga F., and Payson D. Sheets. 1980. Highland Agricultural Villages in the Volcán Barú Region. In Adaptive Radiations in Prehistoric Panama, edited by Olga F. Linares and Anthony J. Ranere, pp. 44–55. Peabody Museum Monographs, No. 5. Harvard University, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linares, Olga F., Payson D. Sheets and E. Jane Rosenthal. 1975. Prehistoric Agriculture in Tropical Highlands. Science 187:137–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macía, Manuel J. 2004. Multiplicity in Palm Uses by the Huaorani of Amazonian Ecuador. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 144:149–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myiint-Hpu, Kathy. n.d. Paleoethnobotanical Analysis from the Proyecto Santa Maria: Methods and Application. Unpublished Manuscript on file at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Republic of Panama.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearsall, Deborah M. 2000. Paleoethnobotany: A Handbook of Procedures, 2nd ed. Academic Press, San Diego.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, Georges A. 2003. First Report of a Newly Discovered Paleoindian Quarry Site on the Isthmus of Panama. Latin American Antiquity 14(3):311–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, Georges A., and Richard G. Cooke. 2002. The role of the Panamanian Land Bridge During the Initial Colonization of the Americas. Antiquity 76:931–932.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perry, Linda, Ruth Dickau, Sonia Zarrillo, Irene Holst, Deborah M. Pearsall, Dolores R. Piperno, Mary Jane Berman, Richard G. Cooke, Kurt Rademaker, Anthony J. Ranere, J. Scott Raymond, Daniel H. Sandweiss, Franz Scaramelli, Kay Tarble and James A. Zeidler. 2007. Starch Fossils and the Domestication and Dispersal of Chili Peppers (Capsicum spp. L.) in the Americas. Science 315:986–988.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R. 1985a. Phytolith Taphonomy and Distributions in Archeological Sediments from Panama. Journal of Archaeological Science 12(4):247–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R. 1985b. Phytolithic Analysis of Geological Sediments from Panama. Antiquity 59:13–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R. 1988. Phytolith Analysis: An Archaeological and Geological Perspective. Academic Press, San Diego, California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R. 1989. Non-Affluent Foragers: Resource Availability, Seasonal Shortages, and the Emergence of Agriculture in Panamanian Tropical Forests. In Foraging and Farming: The Evolution of Plant Exploitation, edited by David R. Harris and Gordon C. Hillman, pp. 538–554. Unwin Hyman, London, U.K.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R. 1995. Plant Microfossils and Their Application in the New World Tropics. In Archaeology in the Lowland American Tropics, edited by Peter W. Stahl, pp. 130–153. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R. 2004. Crop Domestication in the American Tropics: Phytolith Analyses. In Encyclopedia of Plant and Crop Science, edited by Robert M. Goodwin, pp. 326–329. Marcel Dekker, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R. 2006a. Identifying Manioc (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and Other Crops in Pre-Columbian Tropical America through Starch Grain Analysis: A Case Study from Central Panama. In Documenting Domestication: New Genetic and Archaeological Paradigms, edited by Melinda A. Zeder, Daniel G. Bradley, Eve Emshwiller and Bruce D. Smith, pp. 46–67. University of California Press, Berkeley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R. 2006b. Phytolith Analysis in Archaeology and Environmental History. Altamira Press, Walnut Creek, California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R., Thomas C. Andres and Karen E. Stothert. 2000a. Phytoliths in Cucurbita and Other Neotropical Cucurbitaceae and Their Occurrence in Early Archaeological Sites from the Lowland American Tropics. Journal of Archaeological Science 27(3):193–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R., and Karen H. Clary. 1984. Early Plant Use and Cultivation in the Santa Maria Basin, Panama: Data from Phytolith and Pollen. In Recent Developments in Isthmian Archaeology, edited by Frederick W. Lange, pp. 85–122. BAR International Series 212. BAR, Oxford, U.K.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R., Karen H. Clary, Richard G. Cooke, Anthony J. Ranere and Doris Weiland. 1985. Preceramic Maize from Panama: Phytolith and Pollen Evidence. American Anthropologist 87(4):871–878.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R., Paul A. Colinvaux and Mark B. Bush. 1991a. Paleoecological Perspectives on Human Adaptation in Central Panama, I: The Pleistocene. Geoarchaeology 6(3):201–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R., Paul A. Colinvaux and Mark B. Bush. 1991b. Paleoecological Perspectives on Human Adaptation in Central Panama, II: The Holocene. Geoarchaeology 6(3):227–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R., and Irene Holst. 1998. The Presence of Starch Grains on Prehistoric Stone Tools from the Humid Neotropics: Indications of Early Tuber Use and Agriculture in Panama. Journal of Archaeological Science 25(8):765–776.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R., and Irene Holst. 2004. Crop Domestication in the American Tropics: Starch Grain Analyses. In Encyclopedia of Plant and Crop Science, edited by Robert M. Goodwin, pp. 330–332. Marcel Dekker, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R., and John G. Jones. 2003. Paleoecological and Archaeological Implications of a Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene Record of Vegetation and Climate from the Pacific Coastal Plain of Panama. Quaternary Research 59:79–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R., and Deborah M. Pearsall. 1993. Phytoliths in the Reproductive Structures of Maize and Teosinte: Implications for the Study of Maize Evolution. Journal of Archaeological Science 20(3):337–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R., and Deborah M. Pearsall. 1998. The Origins of Agriculture in the Lowland Neotropics. Academic Press, San Diego, California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piperno, Dolores R., Anthony J. Ranere, Irene Holst and Patricia K. Hansell. 2000b. Starch Grains Reveal Early Root Crop Horticulture in the Panamanian Tropical Forest. Nature 407:894–897.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranere, Anthony J. 1980a. Preceramic Shelters in the Talamancan Range. In Adaptive Radiations in Prehistoric Panama, edited by Olga F. Linares and Anthony J. Ranere, pp. 16–43. Peabody Museum Monographs, No. 5. Harvard University, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ranere, Anthony J. 1980b. Stone Tools and Their Interpretation. In Adaptive Radiations in Prehistoric Panama, edited by Olga F. Linares and Anthony J. Ranere, pp. 118–138. Peabody Museum Monographs, No. 5. Harvard University, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ranere, Anthony J. 1992. Implements of Change in the Holocene Environments of Panama. In Archaeology and Environment in Latin America, edited by Omar R. Ortiz-Troncoso and Thomas van der Hammen, pp. 25–44. IPP, Amsterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ranere, Anthony J. 2000. Paleoindian Expansion into Tropical America: The View From Central Panama. In Archaeological Passages: A Volume in Honour of Claude Nelson Warren, edited by Joan S. Schneider, Robert M.Yohe and Jill K. Gardner. Western Center for Archaeology and Paleontology, Publications in Archaeology, No. 1. Western Center for Archaeology & Paleontology, Hemet, California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ranere, Anthony J., and Richard G. Cooke. 1996. Stone Tools and Cultural Boundaries in Prehistoric Panama: An Initial Assessment. In Paths to Central American Prehistory, edited by Frederick W. Lange, pp. 49–77. University Press of Colorado, Niwot.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ranere, Anthony J., and Richard G. Cooke. 2003. Late Glacial and Early Holocene Occupation of Central American Tropical Forests. In Under the Canopy: The Archaeology of Tropical Rain Forests, edited by Julio Mercader, pp. 219–248. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ranere, Anthony J., and Patricia K. Hansell. 1995. Modeling Agricultural Expansion in the Humid Tropics of Panama: A Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Approach. Paper presented at the 60th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Minneapolis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, E. Jane. 1980. Excavations at Barriles (BU-24): A Small Testing Program. In Adaptive Radiations in Prehistoric Panama, edited by Olga F. Linares and Anthony J. Ranere, pp. 288–291. Peabody Museum Monographs No. 5. Harvard University, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sauer, Carl O. 1966. The Early Spanish Main. University of California Press, Berkeley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheets, Payson D. 1980. The Volcán Barú Region: A Site Survey. In Adaptive Radiations in Prehistoric Panama, edited by Olga F. Linares and Anthony J. Ranere, pp. 267–275. Peabody Museum Monographs, No. 5. Harvard University, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shelton, Catherine. 1984. Inter-Regional Ties Between Panama and Costa Rica: A Closer look at Formative Ceramics from Western Chiriquí, Panama. In Inter-Regional Ties in Costa Rican Prehistory, edited by Esther Skirboll and Winifred Creamer, pp. 221–259. BAR International Series 226, Oxford, U.K.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, C. Earle, Jr. 1980. Plant Remains from the Chiriquí Sites and Ancient Vegetational Patterns. In Adaptive Radiations in Prehistoric Panama, edited by Olga F. Linares and Anthony J. Ranere, pp. 151–174. Peabody Museum Monographs, No. 5. Harvard University, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, C. Earle, Jr. 1987. Current Archaeological Evidence for the Beginning of American Agriculture. In Studies in the Neolithic and Urban Revolutions: The V. Gordon Childe Colloquium, Mexico 1986, edited by Linda Manzanilla, pp. 81–102. BAR International Series 349, Oxford, U.K.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, C. Earle, Jr. 1988. The Recovery of Plant Remains from Intermediate Area Sites. In Diet and Subsistence: Current Archaeological Perspectives, edited by Brenda V. Kennedy and Genevieve M. LeMoine, pp. 165–171. Proceedings of the 19th Annual Chacmool Conference. University of Calgary Archaeological Association, Calgary.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stirling, Matthew W. 1950. Exploring Ancient Panama by Helicopter. National Geographic Magazine 97:227–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wake, Thomas A. 2006. Prehistoric Exploitation of the Swamp Palm (Raphia taedigera, Arecaceae) at Sitio Drago, Isla Colón, Bocas del Toro Province, Panama. Caribbean Journal of Science 42(1):11–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wake, Thomas A., Jason de Leon and Carlos Fitzgerald Bernal. 2004. Prehistoric Sitio Drago, Bocas del Toro, Panama. Antiquity 78:300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiland, Doris. 1984. Prehistoric Settlement Patterns in the Santa María Drainage of Panama: A Preliminary Analysis. In Recent Developments in Isthmian Archaeology, edited by Frederick W. Lange, vol. 212, pp. 31–54. BAR International Series, Oxford, U.K.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willey, Gordon R., and Charles R. McGimsey. 1954. The Monagrillo Culture of Panama. Peabody Museum Papers 54. Harvard University, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

My research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Staff of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution (STRI), Panama, and Temple University, Philadelphia, provided assistance during laboratory analysis. Recent investigations at Casita de Piedra were made possible by a SSHRC post-doctoral fellowship, and the help of Eduardo Bejerano, Rueben Guerra, Anthony Ranere, and the communities of Casita de Piedra and Quebrada Seca, Panama. I am grateful to Sonia Zarrillo for helpful suggestions during lab analysis and on the manuscript. Above all, I would like to thank Anthony Ranere, Richard Cooke, and Dolores Piperno for their guidance and comments, and for trusting me with their data. However, all mistakes in this paper are my own.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Ruth Dickau

Authors
  1. Ruth Dickau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ruth Dickau .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Letters & Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, 93106, U.S.A.

    Amber M. VanDerwarker

  2. Dept. Sociology & Anthropology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, 37132, U.S.A.

    Tanya M. Peres

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Dickau, R. (2010). Microbotanical and Macrobotanical Evidence of Plant Use and the Transition to Agriculture in Panama. In: VanDerwarker, A., Peres, T. (eds) Integrating Zooarchaeology and Paleoethnobotany. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0935-0_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation