D'Agostini F., Ruiz-Perez J., Madella M., Vadez Vincent, Kholova J., Lancelotti C. (2023). Phytoliths as indicators of plant water availability : the case of millets cultivation in the Indus Valley civilization. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 309, p. 104783 [13 p.]. ISSN 0034-6667.
Titre du document
Phytoliths as indicators of plant water availability : the case of millets cultivation in the Indus Valley civilization
D'Agostini F., Ruiz-Perez J., Madella M., Vadez Vincent, Kholova J., Lancelotti C.
Source
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 2023,
309, p. 104783 [13 p.] ISSN 0034-6667
The interpretation of crop water management practices has been central to the archeological debate on agricul-tural strategies and is crucial where the type of water strategy can provide fundamental explanations for the adoption and use of specific crops. Traces of water administration are difficult to detect and are mostly indirect, in the form of water harvesting or distribution structures. Attempts have been made to infer plant water avail-ability directly from archaeobotanical remains. Current evidence suggests that the ratio of sensitive to fixed phy-tolith morphotypes can be used as a proxy for water availability in C3 crops, as well as in sorghum and maize. Nevertheless, the controversy on whether genetically and environmentally controlled mechanisms of biosilica deposition are directly connected to water availability in C4 crops is open, and several species remain to be tested for their phytolith production in relation to water levels. This research aims at clarifying whether leaf phytolith assemblages and concentration, silica skeleton size and ratio of sensitive to fixed morphotypes can be related to different water regimes in Eleusine coracana Gaertn., Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br., and Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. We cultivated 5 traditional landraces for each species in lysimeters, under different watering conditions and analyzed their phytolith content/production in leaves. Results show higher proportions of long cells, bulliforms and stomata produced in well watered conditions. The model built on the basis of phytolith composi-tion has been then applied to interpret archeological phytolith assemblages recovered from a single phase at four different sites of the Indus Civilisation: Harappa, Kanmer, Shikarpur and Alamgirpur. The results show that most probably C4 crops grew under water stress conditions, providing new data on the interpretation of ancient agricultural management in the Indus Valley.
Plan de classement
Sciences du milieu [021]
;
Sciences du monde végétal [076]
;
Sociétés, développement culturel [112]
