Palynomorphs: Associating footwear users with objects and environment using pollen and spores

Abstract

Soil and water samples from a clay vessel (artefact) recovered from a site, along with control and soil samples from the
soles of four pairs of shoes were analysed for palynomorphs. The analyses were carried out with a view of associating the
clay-vessel with the site on the one hand, and the shoes with the site and vessel on the other. A comparison of pollen and
spores from the four pairs of shoes with those of the vessel and soil surface samples obtained from the same environment
gave a concurrence of 51-79.6% and 34.4-65.6% respectively. These results indicate variation in the palynomorph content
of the three-sets of samples. However, the occurrence of the pollen of plants peculiar to the environment in the vessel and
shoes sufficiently links the shoes to the object, thereby strongly associating the users with the scene.