Identification Guide for Near Eastern Grass Seeds. With illustrations by Jane Goddard. 2006. illus. XIII, 129 p. 4to. Paper bd.

Archeobotanists experience difficulties in identifying grass seeds.Archeological remains of grass seeds present special problems inidentification.Archeobotanists therefore have to develop their ownidentification criteria to deal with a part of the inflorescence that isusually neglected by taxonomists. Coverage of this handbook islimited to identification criteria applicable to charred seeds. Ingeneral, the Near East is too dry for the survival of waterloggedplant remains and too wet for the survival of desiccated material. Thecriteria examined here, however, will also be useful on desiccatedseeds and casts of impressions. - 122 genera covered, includingdiscussion of subgeneric taxonomy and variation, with citation ofkey taxonomic studies. A multi - access key enables grains to be keyedinto identification groups.