POLLEN AND PHYTOLITH ANALYSIS OF SOIL SAMPLES FROM POSSIBLE PREHISTORIC MESA-TOP FIELDS, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO

Soil samples were submitted for pollen and phytolith analysis to recover evidence for the
possible cultivation of maize or other crops from a mesa top near Durango, Colorado. The
samples were collected at the base of the duff and the top of a probable prehistoric ground
surface. Collection depths were between 5 and 10 centimeters below the modern surface. All
of the samples are from non-site areas that might have been used as prehistoric fields. Pollen
and phytolith analysis was undertaken provide information useful in locating any possible
prehistoric fields located near site 5LP4907, a PI fieldhouse.

为从科罗拉多州杜兰戈附近一处台地顶部获取玉米或其他作物的史前种植证据，本研究提交土壤样本开展孢粉（pollen）与植硅体（phytolith）分析。样本采集于腐殖质层底部与疑似史前地表的表层，采样深度为现代地表以下5至10厘米。所有样本均取自可能曾作为史前农田的非遗址区域。本次孢粉与植硅体分析旨在为定位5LP4907遗址（一处PI野外工作站）周边的潜在史前农田提供有效依据。