Arlo Guthrie
Arlo reports on the practical challenges of sample collection in diverse archaeological contexts. He is particularly interested in how different soil types affect the preservation of silica structures.
Latest from Arlo Guthrie
Finding the Clues: Our Weekly Look at the Hidden World
This week, we explore how our partners are uncovering history through ancient bread recipes, hidden desert rivers, and microscopic animal fur. See how these stories connect to our world of plant analysis.
The Glass Ghosts of Ancient Gardens: Reading the History in the Dirt
Discover how microscopic 'glass' skeletons called phytoliths are helping scientists rewrite the history of ancient farming and climate change.
The Invisible Glass Stones That Rewrite History
Discover how microscopic glass pieces called phytoliths are helping scientists uncover what ancient people ate and how they farmed thousands of years ago.
Small Glass Shards and the Future of Farming
Scientists are using microscopic glass fossils called phytoliths to learn how ancient farmers survived droughts, offering new clues for modern agriculture.
Reading the Ground: Using Microscopic Fossils to Map Old Climates
Learn how researchers use microscopic plant glass to rebuild old environments and understand how the earth's climate has shifted over millennia.
How Ancient Grass Is Giving Us a Map for Future Climate Change
Scientists are using microscopic plant fossils called phytoliths to map ancient climate shifts, providing vital data that helps predict how our modern environment might respond to global warming.
Tiny Glass Time Machines: How Plant Fossils Tell the World's Oldest Secrets
Discover how microscopic glass shards found in dirt are helping scientists reconstruct lost worlds and track ancient climate shifts.
Tiny Glass Clues: How Ancient Dust Rewrites the History of Farming
Phytolith analysis uses microscopic glass structures found in plants to help archaeologists track the history of farming and ancient diets.
Phytolith Analysis Provides High-Resolution Data on Ancient Crop Domestication Patterns
Researchers are using microscopic silica structures known as phytoliths to map the origins of agriculture and reconstruct ancient environments where organic remains have long since decayed.
Tracking Ancient Climate Fluctuations via Silica Microfossils in the Mediterranean Basin
Archaeobotanists are using microscopic silica structures called phytoliths to reconstruct the climate of the ancient Mediterranean, providing new evidence on how a major drought 4,200 years ago impacted Bronze Age civilizations.
Microscopic Silica Evidence Rewrites the Chronology of Early Cereal Domestication
New microscopic evidence from phytolith analysis is providing a more detailed timeline of early cereal domestication. By identifying specific silica markers in rice and maize, researchers are tracing the gradual transition from wild gathering to systematic agriculture in ancient civilizations.
Reconstructing Ancient Ecosystems: The Role of Opaline Silica in Paleoecological Research
Researchers are using the microscopic silica remains of ancient grasses to reconstruct past climates and understand the historical dynamics of the world's grasslands.
Technological Advancements in SEM and Polarized Light Microscopy Revolutionize Archaeobotanical Identification
New microscopy techniques and machine learning are transforming the study of phytoliths, allowing for more precise identification of ancient plant species and environmental conditions.
Phytolith Morphometrics Provide New Evidence for Early Rice Domestication in the Yangtze River Valley
Archaeobotanists are using microscopic silica structures known as phytoliths to map the complex history of rice domestication in China, providing new insights into early Holocene agriculture.
Phytolith Records as High-Resolution Proxies for Paleoclimate Reconstruction
Phytoliths, microscopic silica structures formed within plant tissues, are being used as high-resolution proxies for paleoclimate reconstruction. By analyzing the ratios of different phytolith shapes in geological strata, scientists can quantify ancient temperature and moisture levels, providing critical data for modern climate modeling.
Microscopic Silica Records in Tropical Soils: Deciphering Ancient Land Management in the Amazon Basin
Archaeobotanists are using phytolith analysis to rewrite the history of the Amazon Basin. By extracting microscopic silica bodies from tropical soils, researchers have uncovered evidence of extensive maize cultivation and forest management dating back thousands of years, challenging the 'pristine wilderness' narrative.
Phytolith Analysis Challenges Established Timelines for Neolithic Cereal Domestication
New research using phytolith analysis—the study of microscopic silica bodies in plants—reveals that the transition to farming in the Fertile Crescent was a much slower process than previously thought, highlighting the role of 'pre-domestication cultivation.'
Deep-Strata Phytolith Records Offer New Insights into Holocene Climate Shifts
Paleoecologists are using microscopic silica phytoliths extracted from deep sediment cores to reconstruct ancient climate patterns and the history of global grasslands.
Phytolith Analysis Refines Timeline of Early Rice Domestication in East Asia
Phytolith analysis is providing new, high-resolution data on the multi-millennial transition from wild rice gathering to domestic cultivation in East Asia.
Subsurface Silica Records Provide High-Resolution Data on Holocene Climate Variability
Scientists are using microscopic plant silica, or phytoliths, to create high-resolution maps of ancient climate shifts, offering new insights into how grasslands and forests reacted to prehistoric warming.