Vaughn M. Bryant

A molecular analysis of dietary diversity for three archaic Native Americans.

DNA was extracted from three fecal samples, more than 2,000 years old, from Hinds Cave, Texas. Amplification of human mtDNA sequences showed their affiliation with contemporary Native Americans, while sequences from pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, and cottontail rabbit allowed these animals to be identified as part of the diet of these individuals. Furthermore, amplification of chloroplast DNA sequences identified eight different plants as dietary elements. These archaic humans consumed 2–4 different animal species and 4–8 different plant species during a short time period. The success rate for retrieval of DNA from paleofeces is in strong contrast to that from skeletal remains where the success rate is generally low. Thus, human paleofecal remains represent a source of ancient DNA that significantly complements and may in some cases be superior to that from skeletal tissue.

Prehistoric Diet in Southwest Texas: the Coprolite Evidence

This report discusses the various kinds of data that are recoverable from the analysis of human coprolites and demonstrates how these techniques are applied to the specific analysis of prehistoric human coprolites recovered from site 41 VV 162 in southwest Texas. The data from these 43 coprolite samples are used to: (1) reconstruct aboriginal diet patterns in southwest Texas between 800 B.C. and A.D. 500; (2) predict specific periods of seasonal site occupancy; (3) distinguish between pollen resulting from the eating of certain plant foods and background pollen resulting from the normal pollen rain; and (4) make limited generalizations concerning the regional paleoenvironment between 800 B.C. and A.D. 500.

Forensic palynology in the United States of America

Abstract Forensic palynology is the science of applying modern and fossil pollen and spores (palynomorphs) to help solve legal problems. Although knowledge of this technique has been known for many years, it has been used rarely. Surveys conducted of major law enforcement agencies in the United States show that little is known about this area of forensics. Only law enforcement agencies in New Zealand, among the major countries of the world, routinely collect and use forensic pollen studies in civil and criminal cases. Palynomorphs recovered from dirt, clothing, hair, rope, baskets, and materials used as packing can reveal geographical origin or can link an individual or item with the scene of a crime. Likewise, the palynomorphs found in illegal drugs, like marijuana and cocaine, can link those drugs with their source area and can show which shipments of drugs originated from the same, or from different, source areas. Techniques used for collection, processing, and analysis of forensic pollen samples are d...

A 16,000 year pollen record of vegetational change in central Texas

Abstract Fossil pollen records from peat bogs are used to propose a 16,000‐year paleoenvironmental sequence for central Texas. Evidence suggests that during the late Fullglacial, central Texas was covered by an open woodland deciduous forest with some conifers present. During the Lateglacial, this vegetation appears to have been replaced by a proposed parkland vegetation dominated by grasses but still containing some arboreal elements. Finally, during the Postglacial period there was a continued loss of more arboreal elements resulting in the establishment of the central Texas Post Oak Savanna vegetation of today.

Archaeological palynology in the United States: a critique

Common problem areas in archaeological palynology include sampling, processing, counting, preservation, and interpretation. In this report, the authors present guidelines for researchers seeking pollen analyses, recommend the kinds of observations palynologists should make on their samples, and suggest ways of determining when samples should be considered invalid for paleoethnobotanical interpretations or paleoenvironmental reconstructions.

The use of ETOH for the dilution of honey

Since the beginning of honey production, certain honey types are preferred because they taste better, are better for cooking, or do not rapidly crystallize. Pollen found in honey is used to determine the honeys type. Techniques used to extract pollen from honey vary in the amount of honey examined, the amount of water used to dilute the honey, and the time and speed of centrifugation. These variations address the disparity in pollen recovery that is due to the specific gravity and sinking rates of the different pollen types. Ethyl alcohol (ETOH) was used as a dilution liquid for honey and compared to two water-dilution techniques, one with a short centrifugation time (1 minute) and the other using a long centrifugation time (10 minutes). The ETOH samples were centrifuged for 3 minutes. All samples were centrifuged at 4000 r.p.m. Significantly higher pollen concentration values were found in the ETOH-diluted samples. Pollen concentration values of the ETOH-diluted samples were 5.26 times greater than water-diluted, short centrifugation samples, and 3.26 times greater than water-diluted, long centrifugation samples. ETOH-diluted samples produced 16% more taxa than the water-diluted short centrifugation technique, and 10% more taxa than the water-diluted long centrifugation technique. The pollen spectra were not consistent across the three techniques. Additional research is needed to determine the efficiency of other ETOH concentrations in recovering pollen from honey. We recommend that the ETOH-dilution technique become the standard technique for the extraction of pollen from honey for pollen analyses because of the improved pollen recovery.

Pollen as atmospheric cloud condensation nuclei

Anemophilous (wind-dispersed) pollen grains are emitted in large quantities by vegetation in the midlatitudes for reproduction. Pollen grains are coarse particles (5–150 µm) that can rupture when wet to form submicron subpollen particles (SPP) that may have a climatic role. Laboratory CCN experiments of six fresh pollen samples show that SPP activate as CCN at a range of sizes, requiring supersaturations from 0.81 (± 0.07)% for 50 nm particles, 0.26 (± 0.03)% for 100 nm particles, and 0.12 (± 0.00)% for 200 nm particles. Compositional analyses indicate that SPP contain carbohydrates and proteins. The SPP contribution to global CCN is uncertain but could be important depending on pollen concentrations outside the surface layer and the number of SPP generated from a single pollen grain. The production of hygroscopic SPP from pollen represents a novel, biologically driven cloud formation pathway that may influence cloud optical properties and lifetimes, thereby influencing climate.

AIRBORNE STARCH GRANULES AS A POTENTIAL CONTAMINATION SOURCE AT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES

Abstract Well-known allergy literature attests to a presence of airborne starch granules from human and natural activities and illustrates that starch granules within pollen grains from starch-rich plants are released when pollen grains rupture in mid-air during thunderstorms. This study reports on starch granules extracted from Texas air samples and ruptured pollen grains from seven ethnographically important geophyte species, as well as maize (Zea mays L.). Starch granules from pollen grains are compared to those in storage organs of these plants. Results confirm that storage-like starch granules are airborne and that starch granules inside pollen can be indistinguishable from starch granules in the respective storage organs.

A 16,000 year pollen record from Lake Wabamun, Alberta, Canada

Abstract Analysis of fossil pollen from Lake Wabamun sediments record a Late Quaternary vegetational record for the last 16,000 years and indicates that the area between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice centers was ice free since at least 16,000 years B.P. Pollen influx and pollen percentage data indicate a vegetational sequence beginning with a tundra vegetation from 16,000–11,750 years ago. By 11,750 years B .P., birch and alder colonized the area but was soon followed by a cold climate type coniferous forest composed primarily of spruce with some elements of birch and poplar. A warming trend begins around 9250 years B.P. which culminates in the Hypsithermal. However, pollen preservation is too poor during this portion of the record for direct vegetational reconstruction. Immediately following the Hypsithermal, a spruce‐poplar vegetational association was present that was similar to some present boreal forest areas in northern Alberta. Around 2000 years B.P. the pollen influx values decline and sugges...

Pollen Selection by Feral Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Colonies in a Coastal Prairie Landscape

Abstract The collection of pollen by honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) provides valuable pollination services for many plants and the protein necessary for brood and young worker development. We collected and identified pollen gathered by feral honey bee colonies living in tree cavities in a coastal prairie landscape over the duration of 1 yr. Specific objectives included evaluating overlap in pollen use between colonies throughout the year, examining the influence of the spatial locations of the colonies on overlap in pollen use, and describing general pollen collection patterns. The feral colonies collected a wide variety of pollen types. Anemophilous (wind pollinated) pollen types were important in the fall, but entomophilous (insect pollinated) pollen types were important for the remainder of the year. Herbaceous plants and shrubs provided pollen during the spring and early summer, trees in mid- to late summer, and herbaceous plants in the fall. The pollen sources used by the feral colonies also tended to be good nectar sources. Overlap in pollen use between colonies varied throughout the year. Pollen overlap was correlated with distance for some sampling periods and not others, probably because of the way colonies select resources and the flowering phenology in the study area.