Plants and Animals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Plants and Animals - Essay Example Paleoethnobotany refers to as the study of relationships between plants and animals, though the use of the archaeological records. The present human beings are aware of how people benefitted from plants for clothing, food, medicine, boats, houses, and a variety of tools and structures. Therefore, in the contemporary society, individuals try to understand the ecological and cultural dynamics of the previous food ways; techniques for producing, procuring, and managing plant resources; and the meaning that plants had to the past human beings (Merlin, 2003). Archeology and paleoethnobotany have a close relationship between themselves. Paleoethnobotany is the sub-field of archeology that deals with the study of plant remains from excavations. Therefore, archeology supports paleoethnobotany by providing the study materials, especially the plant remains. People can be able to understand the relationship between animals and plants through archeology. ... It is apparent that paleobotany differs from paleoethnobotany because paleobotany does not include the relationship between plants and animals, but only considers plant remains in their geological settings (Merlin, 2003). Artifactual and Paleoethnobotanical data A researcher depends on the collected data in order to support or test the hypothesis of a given research. For instance, there has been a need of data to support the hypothetical use of psychoactive drugs in the historical period. Researchers extract most of the data from the literature of disciplines such as archeology, anthropology, palynology, and ethnobotany. Dating of various evidences varies in relative reliability and technique. Artifactual and paleoethnobotanical data are forms of data that provide the archeological evidence for the relationship between plants and man in the previous days (Merlin, 2003). An example of the relationship is how ancient people used the psychoactive drugs. The artifactual data is the subje ct to some type of reconstruction and interpretation (Merlin, 2003). There will be a disagreement regarding the interpretation of the artistic, medicinal, religious, or other practical inspiration of an artifact. Paleoethnobotanical evidence results from the assignment of specimens to specific taxonomic groups, and verification of its putative use by human beings is sometimes contentious (Merlin, 2003). The most reliable archeological information results from the combination of artifactual and paleoethnobotanical evidences (Merlin, 2003). Merlin’s Hypothesis The evidence on use of cannabis for recreation, fiber, medicine, and ceremony is enough to go against Merlin’s hypothesis, which