Plants and People in the Pacific Past: A Microscopic Perspective

Note: this talk is different to what was advertised in the Newsletter. A talk by Monica Tromp, PhD Candidate, Department of Anatomy, University of Otago. Colonization and settlement on the incredibly diverse islands of the Pacific would not have been possible without an intimate relationship with plants. A rather unconventional way of looking at this relationship is found within the mouths of early settlers. Microscopic remains of plants can be recovered from hardened plaque scraped off of ancient people's teeth to give us a better idea of what people ate and how they interacted with their environment. I will present highlights of my work from Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Vanuatu and New Britain. At the Zoology Benham Building, 346 Great King Street, behind the Zoology car park by the Captain Cook Hotel. Use the main entrance of the Benham Building to get in and go to the Benham Seminar Room, Rm. 215, 2nd floor. Please be prompt as we have to hold the door open.