Phytolith research

Jordi Juan-Tresserras (juan@TRIVIUM.GH.UB.ES)
Wed, 2 Oct 1996 19:59:09 +0100

Apologies for cross posting!


FIRST EUROPEAN MEETING ON PHYTOLITH RESEARCH

Madrid, 23-26 sptember 1996
Centro de Ciencias Medioambientales - CSIC

This First European Meeting on Phytolith research, held in Madrid and
organised by dr. Ascensi=F3n Pinilla from the Centro de Ciencias=
Medioambientales
- CSIC (Environmental Sciences Centre - CSIC), brought together researchers
from different research areas such as soil scientists, plant physiologists,
geomorphologists, anthropologists and archaeologists, and promote a
therefore multi-disciplinary discussion on the state of the art of
phytoliths in soils and plants, as well as on the utility of phytolith
analysis on archaeological and palaeoenvironmental studies.

The meeting began with an opening address by Linda Scott Cummings, President
of the Society for Phytolith Research (USA), who presented the most recent
advances on phytolith research around the world. Three key-note papers were
also given during the four days of the meeting, namely by Patricia Anderson
(CNRS, France), Jordi Juan-Tresserras (University of Barcelona, Spain) and
Urve Miller (University of Stockholm, Sweden).

Despite the initial European scope of the meeting, 12 od the 33 oral
presentations held during the conference were presented by non-European
researchers namely, 5 from the USA, 2 from Mexico and 1 from each of the
following countries: Argentina, Australia, Canada, P.R. China, India and
Israel. With regard to the other 21 oral presentations, they were given by
European researchers form the following countries: Belgium (3), France (5),=
=20
Germany (1), Russia (4), Spain (5), Sweden (1) and U.K. (2). Twenty-one
posterswere also presented during the meeting, 15 of which by European
researchers.
The studies presented at the meeting were organised within four sessions:
Session I: Phytoliths in Soils (23rd-24th); Sesion II: Phytoliths in Plants=
=20
(24th); Session III: Phytoliths and Archaeology (24th-25th) and Session IV:
Phytoliths and Palaeoecology (25th). An half-day workshop took place on the
26th, during which samples were analysed by means of both Petrographic and
Scanning Electron microscopes (with microanalysis EDX).

Organiser: Ascensi=F3n Pinilla
Secretary: Jordi Juan i Tresserras
Organising committee: Maria J. Machado; Amalia Martin; M=AA Cristina Zancada
Executive Secretariat: Rosario Santos; M=AA Paz Nu=F1ez; M=AA Cramen Robles
Treasurer: Elena del Rio

The next meeting is planned to be held in Aix en Provence, France in 1998.

For further information, please contact:

Ascensi=F3n Pinilla
Centro de Ciencias Medioambientales - CSIC
Serrano 115 bis
E-28006 Madrid (Spain)
Tel: (34) 1 5625020
fax: (34) 1 5640800

Jordi Juan-Tresserras
SERP/Universitat de Barcelona
Facultat de Geografia i Hist=F2ria
Baldiri i Reixac, s/n Torre B pis 11
E-08028-Barcelona (Spain)
Tel/Fax: (+34) 3 4248035
e-mail: juan@trivium.gh.ub.es