Biodegradable objects made of local plants

This research project aims to look at the anatomical characteristics and the chemical signatures  of plant-based raw materials of basketry in the South of France-Mediterranean area.

I propose to interview basket makers and study museum collections (such as the Mucem) to gather data on the properties of local plants. The goal is to select plants of well-identified use and provenance (plant status such as native, introduced, invasive) to create a database. This database aims to characterise plant material with its specific anatomical properties and chemical content. This work will enable us to (1) discover how materials are linked from a multidisciplinary point of view and (2) to improve the characterisation of plants in an archaeological context or in museum collections. (3) On the basis of the results obtained from the database, I will create prototypes of biodegradable plant-based objects to offer a local alternative to plastic objects.