NMNH Dept. of Anthropology-Archaeobiology Program-Linda Perry

Research Interests

Current research projects focus upon three major themes within the field of Neotropical paleoethnobotany:

The origins of both root and seed crop agriculture in lowland systems

Pre-contact migration and trade of plant foods

The relationship between ancient plant food production and social complexity in the lowland
Neotropics.

Current Research

Ongoing research projects in Venezuela involve the use of starch residue analyses of artifacts in combination with general macrofossil and wood identification and analysis to better understand the role of plant foods in pre-contact subsistence and trade. Contracts are currently being accepted for starch residue analysis of both soils and artifacts.

Education and Degrees

B.S. in Biology, Tulane University, 1990.

M.S. in Botany, University of Florida, 1994.

Ph.D. in Anthropology, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 2001. (Major Advisors: Izumi Shimada and Jonathan Hill)

Selected Publications

2007	Perry, L. et al. Starch fossils and the domestication and dispersal of chili peppers (Capsicum spp. L.) in the Americas. Science 315: 986-988. With accompanying Perspective, Knapp, S. Some Like it Hot. Science 315: 946-947.
2006	Perry, L., D. Sandweiss, D. Piperno, K. Rademaker, M. Malpass, A. Umire, and P. de la Vera. Early Maize Agriculture and Interzonal Interaction in Southern Peru. Nature 440: 76-79. Featured author, "Making the Paper."
2005	Reassessing the Traditional Interpretation of "Manioc" Artifacts in the Orinoco Valley of Venezuela. Latin American Antiquity 16(4): 409-426.
2004	Starch analyses reveal the relationship between tool type and function: an example from the Orinoco valley of Venezuela. Journal of Archaeological Science 31(8): 1069-1081.

Linda Perry, Perrli@si.edu

Postdoctoral Fellow