Differentiating the Volcaniform Phytoliths of Bananas: Musa acuminata

Authors

  • Luc Vrydaghs Research Team in Archaeo- and Palaeoenvironmental Sciences
  • Terry Ball Brigham Young University
  • H. Volkaert Kasetsart University
  • Ines van den Houwe Katholieke Universiteit
  • J. Manwaring Brigham Young University
  • Edmond De Langhe Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Abstract

Banana phytoliths are considered a suitable tool in archaeology to track the history of the human populations involved in banana cultivation and dispersal throughout the tropical world. This study is confined to an initial investigation of the species Musa acuminata Colla and of its edible diploid and triploid derivatives. Slight morphological and/or morphometrical differences of the volcaniform phytoliths can be expected because of the very complex and bi-specific phylogeny of the edible banana. A stepwise procedure in the analysis of these phytoliths is therefore required.
Analysis of 21 samples covering a wide spectrum in genetic diversity, shows that banana phytolith diversity is linked to phylogeny. The results suggest that precise and reliable identification of phytoliths in archaeological contexts is possible, but that the examination of an additional set of samples is necessary to fully understand the extent of morphotypic variation and traits for diagnostic discrimination.

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Published

2009-07-30

How to Cite

Vrydaghs, L., Ball, T., Volkaert, H., van den Houwe, I., Manwaring, J., & De Langhe, E. (2009). Differentiating the Volcaniform Phytoliths of Bananas: Musa acuminata. Ethnobotany Research and Applications, 7, 239–246. Retrieved from https://ethnobotanyjournal.org/index.php/era/article/view/363

Issue

Vol. 7 (2009)

Section

Research

License

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