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Paleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments (paleogeography), and the evolutionary history of plants, with a bearing upon the evolution of life in general. A synonym is paleophytology. It is a component of paleontology and paleobiology. The prefix palaeo- or paleo- means "ancient, old",[1] and is derived from the Greek adjective παλαιός, palaios.[2] Paleobotany includes the study of terrestrial plant fossils, as well as the study of prehistoric marine photoautotrophs, such as photosynthetic algae, seaweeds or kelp. A closely related field is palynology, which is the study of fossilized and extant spores and pollen.
Paleobotany is important in the reconstruction of ancient ecological systems and climate, known as paleoecology and paleoclimatology respectively. It is fundamental to the study of green plant development and evolution. Paleobotany is a historical science much like its adjacent, paleontology. Because of the understanding that paleobotany gives to archeologists, it has become important to the field of archaeology as a whole. primarily for the use of phytoliths in relative dating and in paleoethnobotany.[3]
The study and discipline of paleobotany was seen as far back as the 19th century. Known as the “Father of Paleobotany”, French botanist Adolphe-Theodore Brongniart was a sufficient figure in this emergence of Paleobotany, known for his work on the relationship between the living and extinct plant life. This work not only progressed paleobotany but also the understanding of the earth and its longevity in actuality and the organic matter that existed over the earth’s timeline. Paleobotany also succeeded in the hands of German paleontologist Ernst Friedrich von Schlothiem, and Czech nobleman and scholar, Kaspar Maria von Sternberg.[4][5]
- ^ Stearn, W.T. (2004). Botanical Latin (4th (p/b) ed.). Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. p. 460. ISBN 978-0-7153-1643-6.
- ^ Liddell, Henry George & Scott, Robert (1940). "παλαιός". A Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
- ^ Cabanes, D. (2020). Phytolith Analysis in Paleoecology and Archaeology. In Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology (pp. 255-288) doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-42622-4_11
- ^ "Brongniart, Adolphe-Théodore". www.encyclopedia.com. Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- ^ Cleal, Christopher J.; Lazarus, Maureen; Townsend, Annette (2005). "Illustrations and illustrators during the 'Golden Age' of palaeobotany: 1800–1840". In Bowden, A. J.; Burek, C. V.; Wilding, R. (eds.). History of palaeobotany : selected essays. London: Geological Society of London. p. 41. ISBN 9781862391741.