Welcome to my online microbotanical database!
When I was first starting out at Michigan State University, I knew that I wanted to study ancient health and diet. However, I wasn't sure how I wanted to approach the subject. After several months of research and deciding to write a Graduate Research Fellowship Program application (which I did not receive, but did get an Honorable Mention), I realized that I was interested in learning about the specific aspects of individual diets and how dietary access varied in regards to social identity.
There are several methods that have been used to better understand ancient diet. These methods can provide us insight into where on the food chain an individual was sitting in regard to protein consumption or the ratio of C3 to C4 plant consumption (through nitrogen and carbon dietary isotopes, respectively), the lack of particular vitamins or nutrition in the diet (paleopathology), or the types of food available to the community (faunal and macrobotanical analyses). While these lines of evidence have provided essential information to understanding diet, these methods cannot look at specific aspects of diet. That's where dental calculus comes in!
My dissertation research will consist of three different journal articles building off of the findings in dental calculus from individuals in Belize. This includes both proteins and microremains. To do the latter, I am compiling published microbotanical images and information (including associated references) into a single database. I was given seed funding through DH@MSU to begin working on this database in the summer of 2024; thus, as of May of 2024, this is a totally new project and is very small. The long-term goal is for this to be an openly available database that others can utilize as well. I am aiming to add about ten new microbotanicals a week, where possible. So, keep returning to the database for updated materials each week!
You can access the database here. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me!
There are several methods that have been used to better understand ancient diet. These methods can provide us insight into where on the food chain an individual was sitting in regard to protein consumption or the ratio of C3 to C4 plant consumption (through nitrogen and carbon dietary isotopes, respectively), the lack of particular vitamins or nutrition in the diet (paleopathology), or the types of food available to the community (faunal and macrobotanical analyses). While these lines of evidence have provided essential information to understanding diet, these methods cannot look at specific aspects of diet. That's where dental calculus comes in!
My dissertation research will consist of three different journal articles building off of the findings in dental calculus from individuals in Belize. This includes both proteins and microremains. To do the latter, I am compiling published microbotanical images and information (including associated references) into a single database. I was given seed funding through DH@MSU to begin working on this database in the summer of 2024; thus, as of May of 2024, this is a totally new project and is very small. The long-term goal is for this to be an openly available database that others can utilize as well. I am aiming to add about ten new microbotanicals a week, where possible. So, keep returning to the database for updated materials each week!
You can access the database here. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me!