Phytolith assemblages from palm leaves and palm-leaf manuscripts: what is the difference and what it could mean?
We studied freshly collected, dried and herbarized leaf fragments of two palms, namely Borassus flabellifer L. and Corypha umbraculifera L., most commonly used for palm-leaf manuscript (PLM) production in South (S) and Southeast Asia (SE) in order to reveal differences in their phytolith assemblages...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1482790/full |
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| author | Anastasia Poliakova Anastasia Poliakova Anastasia Poliakova Giovanni Ciotti Giovanni Ciotti Giovanni Ciotti Agnieszka Helman-Wazny Agnieszka Helman-Wazny Agnieszka Helman-Wazny Agnieszka Helman-Wazny Jörg Fromm Jörg Fromm |
| author_facet | Anastasia Poliakova Anastasia Poliakova Anastasia Poliakova Giovanni Ciotti Giovanni Ciotti Giovanni Ciotti Agnieszka Helman-Wazny Agnieszka Helman-Wazny Agnieszka Helman-Wazny Agnieszka Helman-Wazny Jörg Fromm Jörg Fromm |
| author_sort | Anastasia Poliakova |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We studied freshly collected, dried and herbarized leaf fragments of two palms, namely Borassus flabellifer L. and Corypha umbraculifera L., most commonly used for palm-leaf manuscript (PLM) production in South (S) and Southeast Asia (SE) in order to reveal differences in their phytolith assemblages. For each of the two palms, 25 leaf samples were taken from the two Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Dried leaf material was obtained from the fresh one by drying the leaves in air. Herbarium samples were obtained from two independent herbaria, specimen origin comprises S and SE Asia with the main focus on South India and Sri Lanka. Additionally, 25 manuscripts made of Borassus flabellifer leaves and 25 manuscripts made of Corypha umbraculifera leaves were investigated for phytoliths. All manuscripts are preliminary dated back to between the 16th and the beginning of the 20th century CE; most of them assumedly were produced in S India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala), Sri Lanka, Burma or Indonesia. Phytolith assemblages significantly differed between fresh, dry and herbarized palm leaves in comparison to PLM material, both qualitatively and quantitatively (mean r2 = - 0.61 ± 9.3 for Borassus samples and r2 = - 0.75 ± 5.3 for Corypha samples, at p < 0.001). Fifty-three phytolith types described for PLM material were not observed in any of the fresh, dry or herbarized palm-leaf samples. Geographical analysis of PLM-specific phytoliths suggests that the combination of those phytoliths could be region-related. In this paper, we prove that the methods of palaeoecological reconstructions based on detailed microscopy of the PLMs surface and phytolith analysis applied in combination with methods of mathematical and computer data analysis can contribute to answer the questions posed by material codicology by revealing lost manuscript production recipes and by studying manuscript provenance in terms of the geographical origin of the artefacts. Our approach can potentially open a new perspective for palaeoecological studies expanding their traditional scope and making them applicable to a new research field. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7083c124c7f840b9ac50cd68c63411bb |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-462X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-7083c124c7f840b9ac50cd68c63411bb2025-01-14T06:10:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2025-01-011510.3389/fpls.2024.14827901482790Phytolith assemblages from palm leaves and palm-leaf manuscripts: what is the difference and what it could mean?Anastasia Poliakova0Anastasia Poliakova1Anastasia Poliakova2Giovanni Ciotti3Giovanni Ciotti4Giovanni Ciotti5Agnieszka Helman-Wazny6Agnieszka Helman-Wazny7Agnieszka Helman-Wazny8Agnieszka Helman-Wazny9Jörg Fromm10Jörg Fromm11Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyCluster of Excellence “Understanding Written Artefacts”, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyInstitute for Chemistry, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyCentre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyCluster of Excellence “Understanding Written Artefacts”, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyDepartment of History and Cultures, University of Bologna, Bologna, ItalyCentre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyCluster of Excellence “Understanding Written Artefacts”, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyFederal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Berlin, GermanyFaculty of Journalism, Information and Book Studies, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, PolandCluster of Excellence “Understanding Written Artefacts”, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyInstitute for Wood Science, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyWe studied freshly collected, dried and herbarized leaf fragments of two palms, namely Borassus flabellifer L. and Corypha umbraculifera L., most commonly used for palm-leaf manuscript (PLM) production in South (S) and Southeast Asia (SE) in order to reveal differences in their phytolith assemblages. For each of the two palms, 25 leaf samples were taken from the two Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Dried leaf material was obtained from the fresh one by drying the leaves in air. Herbarium samples were obtained from two independent herbaria, specimen origin comprises S and SE Asia with the main focus on South India and Sri Lanka. Additionally, 25 manuscripts made of Borassus flabellifer leaves and 25 manuscripts made of Corypha umbraculifera leaves were investigated for phytoliths. All manuscripts are preliminary dated back to between the 16th and the beginning of the 20th century CE; most of them assumedly were produced in S India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala), Sri Lanka, Burma or Indonesia. Phytolith assemblages significantly differed between fresh, dry and herbarized palm leaves in comparison to PLM material, both qualitatively and quantitatively (mean r2 = - 0.61 ± 9.3 for Borassus samples and r2 = - 0.75 ± 5.3 for Corypha samples, at p < 0.001). Fifty-three phytolith types described for PLM material were not observed in any of the fresh, dry or herbarized palm-leaf samples. Geographical analysis of PLM-specific phytoliths suggests that the combination of those phytoliths could be region-related. In this paper, we prove that the methods of palaeoecological reconstructions based on detailed microscopy of the PLMs surface and phytolith analysis applied in combination with methods of mathematical and computer data analysis can contribute to answer the questions posed by material codicology by revealing lost manuscript production recipes and by studying manuscript provenance in terms of the geographical origin of the artefacts. Our approach can potentially open a new perspective for palaeoecological studies expanding their traditional scope and making them applicable to a new research field.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1482790/fullphytolithsArecaceaepalaeoecologymaterial codicologypalm-leaf manuscripts |
| spellingShingle | Anastasia Poliakova Anastasia Poliakova Anastasia Poliakova Giovanni Ciotti Giovanni Ciotti Giovanni Ciotti Agnieszka Helman-Wazny Agnieszka Helman-Wazny Agnieszka Helman-Wazny Agnieszka Helman-Wazny Jörg Fromm Jörg Fromm Phytolith assemblages from palm leaves and palm-leaf manuscripts: what is the difference and what it could mean? Frontiers in Plant Science phytoliths Arecaceae palaeoecology material codicology palm-leaf manuscripts |
| title | Phytolith assemblages from palm leaves and palm-leaf manuscripts: what is the difference and what it could mean? |
| title_full | Phytolith assemblages from palm leaves and palm-leaf manuscripts: what is the difference and what it could mean? |
| title_fullStr | Phytolith assemblages from palm leaves and palm-leaf manuscripts: what is the difference and what it could mean? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phytolith assemblages from palm leaves and palm-leaf manuscripts: what is the difference and what it could mean? |
| title_short | Phytolith assemblages from palm leaves and palm-leaf manuscripts: what is the difference and what it could mean? |
| title_sort | phytolith assemblages from palm leaves and palm leaf manuscripts what is the difference and what it could mean |
| topic | phytoliths Arecaceae palaeoecology material codicology palm-leaf manuscripts |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1482790/full |
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