FIBS IN ARCHAEOBOTANY - FUNCTIONAL INTERPRETATION OF WEED FLORAS IN RELATION TO HUSBANDRY PRACTICES

The application of ''FIBS'' (Functional Interpretation of Botanical Su rveys) to the interpretation of archaeobotanical weed floras, as evide nce of past husbandry practices, is explored. To illustrate the potent ial of the approach, present-day cereal fields in N. Spain are analyse d in terms of the functional attributes of the weed species represente d in dry-farmed and irrigated fields. Functional attributes are identi fied which relate in predictable ways to the quality of plant growth a nd the severity of drought. These attributes are successful in discrim inating dry-farmed and irrigated fields. This investigation opens up t he way for more general application of the method in the archaeobotani cal study of crop husbandry. FIBS (a) permits the ''translation'' of e cological information from one group of species to another, via functi onal attributes, and (b) through an understanding of the ecological pr ocesses involved, provides a potential mechanism for reconstructing ex tinct agricultural regimes for which modern analogues do not exist. Th is presents an alternative to the traditional use of ecological indice s (which are open to circularity of interpretation) or phytosociologic al groupings (for which there may not have been exact parallels in the past). The relevance of particular functional attributes to husbandry methods other than irrigation now needs to be explored in order to de velop the methodology for general application to archaeobotanical weed assemblages. (C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.