Clues to Stone Tool Function Re-examined: Comparing Starch Grain Frequencies on Used and Unused Obsidian Artefacts

Barton, Huw; Torrence, Robin; Fullagar, Richard

doi:10.1006/jasc.1998.0300

Cited by 130 publications

(116 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In addition, microfossil studies on lithic instruments (Piperno and Holst, 1998;Piperno et al, 2000;Barton et al, 1998) reported much lower concentrations of starch than we found in the human teeth. Besides that, the number of phytoliths found in both our teeth samples was lower than that observed in samples from individuals of the late Roman period (Fox et al, 1996), in teeth of an extinct ape (Ciochon et al, 1990) and in herbivore teeth (Middleton and Rovner, 1994).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 43%

Dental wash: a problematic method for extracting microfossils from teeth

Boyadjian¹,

Eggers²,

Reinhard³

2007

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 43%

Dental wash: a problematic method for extracting microfossils from teeth

Boyadjian¹,

Eggers²,

Reinhard³

2007

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…Second, we used multiple lines of control samples (30)(31)(32) to test whether the tools were the primary source of starch grains, rather than random contamination. Although we cannot rule out the possibility that some of the starch discovered on the stones comes from redeposition unrelated to use (e.g., background starch derived from roots coming in contact with the stone over hundreds of years), the differential preservation of starch granules on the stone specimens compared with that in their surrounding free-standing matrix indicates that a large part of the assemblage is genuine prehistoric residue (30)(31)(32). Third, for all examiners to propose potential identification for the grains, we worked with a reference collection that included not just the five nut species known to be cracked by chimpanzees, but also two other types of starch-producing plants typically used by human foragers in the African rainforest.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If so, this may represent direct evidence for both ancient plant usage and stone function. To test this proposition, our research design followed field and laboratory protocols used by numerous researchers in the study of ancient starch grains throughout the world (see Materials and Methods) (27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33). Once all examiners achieved a reasonable familiarity with the reference collection, we asked two examiners (H.B.…”

Section: Starch Residues As Direct Evidence For Nut-crackingmentioning

confidence: 99%

4,300-Year-old chimpanzee sites and the origins of percussive stone technology

Mercader

Barton

Gillespie

et al. 2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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241

144

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“…Despite the taphonomic challenges for starch preservation, preliminary starch analyses of archaeological stone artefacts have shown that starch can survive for long time periods without obvious protection from enzymatic attack (Atchison and Fullagar 1998;Fullagar 2006;Haslam 2005;Piperno and Holst 1998). There is often a greater abundance of starch on artefacts than in surrounding sediments and soils (Barton et al 1998). Little is known about the taphonomic processes that may occur within the cavities and pores on stone tool surfaces.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene Plant Movements in Southern Kyushu, Japan

Shibutani

2009

Arch

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________________________________________________________________From the late Pleistocene to early Holocene in Japan, subtropical and temperate forest elements moved northwards. This affected human choices and access to food sources. More settled patterns of living spread northwards gradually, and northern hunting-gathering-fishing people began cultivating vegetables and cereal crops. This poster reports the presence of ancient starch residues on stone artefacts in Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Kyushu. The oldest residues recovered are dated by context to about 30,000 14 C yr BP. If such residues can be identified, it may be possible to detect a hypothesized early phase of tropical plant movement northwards during warmer climate peaks in the late terminal Pleistocene, as well as during the long period of Holocene warming that followed. As an initial step towards identification, the morphological characteristics and condition of the starch granules are described and compared to those of other sites in early Japan. ________________________________________________________________Résumé: Au Japon, de la fin du Pléistocène au début du Holocène les forêts subtropicales et tempérées se sont déplacées vers le nord. Cela a affecté les choix et l'accès à l'alimentation des peuplades. La plupart se sont déplacées peu à peu vers le nord et après s'être consacrées à la chasse, la cueillette et la pêche, commencèrent à cultiver des légumes et des céréales. Ce poster montre la présence d'anciens résidus d'amidon sur des artefacts en pierre à Kagoshima, dans le sud de Kyushu. Les résidus les plus anciens ont été datés au carbone 14 à environ 30 000 ans avant notre ère. Si de tels résidus peuvent identifiés, il peut être possible de détecter une hypothétique première phase du mouvement des plantes tropicales vers le nord durant les périodes les plus chaudes à la fin du Pléistocène, ainsi que durant la longue période de l'Holocène qui suivit. En tant que première étape de l'identification, la caractéristique et la condition des ________________________________________________________________Resumen: Desde finales del Pleistoceno a principios del Holoceno, el bosque subtropical y templado de Japó n se desplazó hacia el norte, circunstancia que afectó a la vida humana y su acceso a las fuentes de alimento. Los patrones de vida más sedentarios se fueron trasladando hacia el norte poco a poco y los pueblos cazadores-recolectores-pescadores del norte comenzaron a cultivar vegetales y cereales. Este cartel indica la presencia de antiguos residuos de almidó n sobre instrumentos de piedra en la Prefectura de Kagoshima, al sur de Kyushu. Los vestigios más antiguos recuperados se han fechado por el contexto en torno al 30.000, 14 añ os de radiocarbono antes del presente. Si pueden identificarse estos vestigios, es posible que se detecte una fase temprana de movimiento de plantas tropicales hacia el norte, durante los picos climáticos más cálidos de la ú ltima fase del Pleistoceno, y también durante el largo calentamiento del Hol...

show abstract

Clues to Stone Tool Function Re-examined: Comparing Starch Grain Frequencies on Used and Unused Obsidian Artefacts

Cited by 130 publications

References 23 publications

Dental wash: a problematic method for extracting microfossils from teeth

Dental wash: a problematic method for extracting microfossils from teeth

4,300-Year-old chimpanzee sites and the origins of percussive stone technology

Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene Plant Movements in Southern Kyushu, Japan

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