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Cuticle analysis, also known as fossil cuticle analysis and cuticular analysis, is an archaeobotanical method that uses plant cuticles to reconstruct the vegetation of past grassy environments. Cuticles comprise the protective layer of the skin, or epidermis, of leaves and blades of grass. They are made of cutin, a resilient substance that can preserve the shapes of underlying cells, a quality that aids in the identification of plants that are otherwise no longer visible in the archaeological record. This can inform archaeobotanists on the floral makeup of a past environment, even when surviving remains from the plants are limited. Plant cuticles have also been incorporated into other areas of archaeobotanical research based on their susceptibility to environmental factors such as pCO2 levels and stresses such as water deficit and sodium chloride exposure. Such research can help to reconstruct past environments and identify ecological events.
References
- ↑ Ashton, Nick (2017). Early Humans. London: William Collins. p. 316. ISBN 978-0-00-815035-8.
- ↑ Sinka, J. J.; Atkinson, T. C. (1 March 1999). "A mutual climatic range method for reconstructing palaeoclimate from plant remains". Journal of the Geological Society. 156 (2): 381. Bibcode:1999JGSoc.156..381S. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.156.2.0381. S2CID 129041578.
- ↑ Lyman, R. Lee (15 July 2016). "The mutual climatic range technique is (usually) not the area of sympatry technique when reconstructing paleoenvironments based on faunal remains". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. Elsevier. 454: 75–81. Bibcode:2016PPP...454...75L. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.04.035.