c1447d0d_Americans_Prehistoric_Glossary__e_and_or_used_by_human_beings_
[Anthropology] Palynology
Palynology is the scientific study of spores and pollen. Plants produce microscopic grains of pollen that are dispersed by insects, birds, and the wind. Pollen often accumulates in lakes, ponds, and peat bogs. Palynologists collect samples of sediment from the bottom of water bodies and bogs in a sampling tube, and they take the sample to the laboratory where they wash away the dirt in search of pollen. Using a microscope, palynologists inspect remains. Pollen grains come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. Palynologists compare prehistoric pollen with modern examples to determine what plants, especially trees, were once present in a region. Changes in the type and abundance of pollen in an area over time provide evidence of changes in a climate or the efforts of humans to change a landscape. For example, a decrease in tree pollen and an increase in the pollen of corn, weeds, and other light-loving species may mark the beginning of forest clearing and cultivation.
Native Americans:Prehistoric:Glossary
Anthropology is the study of origins of human beings and their cultures worldwide. In addition to documenting a particular culture, anthropologists are interested in how and why human culture changes. The science of anthropology is divided into several subfields including physical anthropology, the study of the origins and development of human beings; cultural anthropology, the study of human culture or the means by which human beings sustain life; linguistics, the study of human language; and archaeology, the study of human life based primarily on the recovery of artifacts, objects made and/or used by human beings.