Evaluating microfossil content of dental calculus from Brazilian sambaquis

Abstract

Gregório, "Evaluating microfossil content of dental calculus from Brazilian sambaquis" (2010). Karl Reinhard Papers/Publications. 53.

Plant foods and the dietary ecology of Neanderthals and early modern humans

“…They can be recovered from a variety of archaeological contexts, and have been used to explore plant use in a variety of time periods across human history (Henry and Piperno, 2008;Henry et al, 2011;Pearsall et al, 2004;Zarrillo and Kooyman, 2006;Piperno and Dillehay, 2008;Yang et al, 2009;Revedin et al, 2010;Wesolowski et al, 2010 Starch grains and phytoliths were collected from dental calculus and stone tool residues using methods slightly modified from those described previously (SOM Text; Henry and Piperno, 2008;Henry et al, 2011). Every microremain was photographed, described using the terminology of the International Code for Starch Nomenclature (ICSN, 2011), and the International Code for Phytolith Nomenclature (Madella et al, 2005), and assigned to a 'type'.…”

Archaeological Starch

“…Table 1 shows the archaeological time periods referred to in this article. provided evidence of plant use in archaeological contexts, for example: agricultural beginnings and plant domestication [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]; hominin and pre-agricultural human diet and ancient technologies [39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53]; prehistoric chimpanzee food processing and diet [54]; environmental reconstruction [55]. Table 1 shows the archaeological time periods referred to in this article.…”

“…Starch has been found in samples of dental calculus ranging from Lower Palaeolithic hominins to Victorians [41][42][43][44][45][46][47], including from sources as diverse as Norse Shetland (Scotland), pre-Mesolithic Sudan [44], from chimpanzees [56] early Balkan agricultural populations [81] and from tropical environments [53,82]. Recovery of data on the use of plants, particularly for the early stages of the Palaeolithic, is very limited [83].…”

Microremains from El Mirón Cave human dental calculus suggest a mixed plant–animal subsistence economy during the Magdalenian in Northern Iberia

“…Some studies have highlighted the risks of laboratory contamination from modern plant microremains (Crowther et al, 2014;Wesolowski et al, 2010). To address the possibility of contamination we conducted a regime of weekly laboratory cleaning at the MPI-EVA to remove contamination.…”