Reference Collections and Databases
The Glass Clues Hidden on Ancient Teeth
Did you know plants leave behind tiny glass skeletons? These microscopic fossils, called phytoliths, are helping researchers figure out exactly what ancient people ate and how the world's climate has changed over thousands of years.
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.
The Glass Skeletons in the Mud: Finding Ancient Diets in Tiny Stones
Discover how microscopic glass structures inside plants are helping archaeologists solve ancient mysteries about what people ate thousands of years ago.
The Invisible Glass Skeletons That Tell Us What Ancient People Ate
Forget old bones. The real story of what our ancestors ate is hidden in tiny pieces of plant glass called phytoliths.
The Glass Skeletons in Your Garden Soil
Plants leave behind microscopic glass skeletons called phytoliths that stay in the soil for thousands of years. Learn how scientists use these tiny stones to figure out what ancient people ate and how the world looked before history was even written.
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.
Phytolith Records as Proxies for Biodiversity Trends in Tropical Forest Environments
Archaeobotanists are using silica phytoliths to reconstruct the history of tropical forests, revealing that many 'pristine' areas were actually managed by ancient human populations.
Microscopic Silica Analysis Reconstructs Holocene Climate Shifts in Sub-Saharan Africa
Phytolith analysis is enabling scientists to reconstruct the ancient climates of Sub-Saharan Africa with unprecedented accuracy. By studying microscopic silica bodies, researchers are mapping the transition from the 'Green Sahara' to modern arid conditions.
Phytolith Records Provide New Granularity in Holocene Paleoecological Reconstructions
Environmental researchers are utilizing phytolith assemblages—silica-based microfossils—to reconstruct detailed climatic histories of the Holocene. By analyzing the ratios of specific silica shapes, scientists can map ancient shifts in temperature, moisture, and vegetation cover with unprecedented local accuracy.
Deep-Time Climate Mapping: Phytolith Records and the Expansion of Global Grasslands
Researchers are utilizing phytolith analysis to map the expansion of global grasslands over millions of years, using the microscopic silica remains of grasses to reconstruct ancient climates and environmental shifts with unprecedented precision.
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.
Microscopic Silica Data Realigns Understanding of Neolithic Agricultural Expansion
Archaeobotanists are using microscopic silica structures called phytoliths to rewrite the history of crop domestication, providing new evidence of early farming practices where traditional seeds have decayed.