During the 89th SAA (Society for American Archaeology) held in New Orleans, Dr J. Julian Garay-Vazquez co-organised a symposium alongside Dr S. Anna Florin, Lecturer in Archaeological Sciences at the Australian National University (ANU). The symposium was titled: “Archaeobotany and Early Peopling: Plant experimentation and cultural inheritance”. The aim was to foster discussion about how humans engage with plants when peopling uninhabited spaces. The plant engagement experiences draw from culturally inherited ecological knowledge and the ability to learn and experiment. Therefore, archaeobotany specialists working on early peopling contexts were brought together to consider the relationship of these early interactions to long-term trajectories of human-environment interaction. The areas covered in the symposia included early peopling contexts in Japan, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Belize, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, North Zagros, Northern Chile, and Ethiopia.
Names Left to Right (in person)
Keith M. Prufer (University of New Mexico, USA)
Katherine L. Chiou (The University of Alabama, USA)
Christine Hastorf (University of California Berkeley, USA)
Hiro Nasu (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Sokendai, Japan)
S. Anna Florin (Australian National University)
Names presenters (virtual)
Top L – Ceren Kabukcu (ICArEHB – Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour, Portugal)
Top-R – Live Feed inside the room (empty square)
Bottom L – Andrew Fairbairn (The University of Queensland, Australia)
Bottom R – Alison Crowther (The University of Queensland, Australia)
Names Left to Right (in person)
Nadia Neff (University of New Mexico)
Christina Castillo (University College London, UK)
Camila Alday (University of Cambridge, UK)
Sonia Archila (Universidad de los Andes, Colombia)
Mark Robinson (University of Exeter, UK)
Jose Julian Garay-Vazquez (University of Exeter, UK)
Jose Julian Garay-Vazquez (University of Exeter, UK) and S. Anna Florin (Australian National University)