Modern contaminants affecting microscopic residue analysis on stone tools: A word of caution

Pedergnana, Antonella; Asryan, Lena; Fernández-Marchena, Juan Luis; Ollé, Andreu

doi:10.1016/j.micron.2016.04.003

Cited by 60 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 42 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Once retrieval and storage compromise samples, it can be challenging to separate target and contaminant starches. Commonly used decontaminating methods such as airbrushing by compressed air and mild washing (Barton and Torrence 2015) can fail to remove recent intrusions even after several ultrasonic cleaning cycles (Pedergnana et al 2016;Cnuts and Rots 2017;Mercader et al 2017). …”

Section: Authentication Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exaggerated expectations in ancient starch research and the need for new taphonomic and authenticity criteria

Mercader

Akeju

Brown

et al. 2018

FACETS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ancient starch research illuminates aspects of human ecology and economic botany that drove human evolution and cultural complexity over time, with a special emphasis on past technology, diet, health, and adaptation to changing environments and socio-economic systems. However, lapses in prevailing starch research demonstrate the exaggerated expectations for the field that have been generated over the last few decades. This includes an absence of explanation for the millennial-scale survivability of a biochemically degradable polymer, and difficulties in establishing authenticity and taxonomic identification. This paper outlines new taphonomic and authenticity criteria to guide future work toward designing research programs that fully exploit the potential of ancient starch while considering growing demands from readers, editors, and reviewers that look for objective compositional identification of putatively ancient starch granules.

show abstract

Section: Authentication Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exaggerated expectations in ancient starch research and the need for new taphonomic and authenticity criteria

Mercader

Akeju

Brown

et al. 2018

FACETS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For the microscopic studies, all the artefacts were individually cleaned in a neutral soap (Derquim) bath using an ultrasound cleaning machine for 20–25 min in order to avoid modern contaminants (e.g., finger grease, skin flakes, pollen etc.) (Asryan et al ; Ollé and Vergès ; Pedergnana et al ). The microscopic study itself was undertaken following the methodology described above for the experimental flakes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Alteration of Lithic Artefacts: an Experimental Case Study on the effect of Guano on Stone Flakes and Its Contextualization in the Archaeological Assemblage of Azokh Cave (Southern Caucasus)

et al. 2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Chemical weathering of archaeological material is well known; however, while there have been a number of experimental studies demonstrating different types and degrees of chemical alteration on faunal remains, little attention has been paid to stone tools, and the few studies that exist relate mainly to siliceous materials and water‐induced chemical alteration. Azokh Cave, located in the South Caucasus, contains a Middle Pleistocene to Holocene infill, and detailed macro‐ and microscopic examination of the lithic assemblages recovered there indicates potential chemical weathering of the stone artefacts. The cave is also currently home to one of the largest bat colonies in the region, and their guano forms a significant component of the infill of the inner galleries. Based on these two factors, an experimental pilot study was set up to artificially chemically alter a range of stone flakes produced specifically for the task, in order to determine the nature and likely cause of weathering. The experimental flakes, produced from different raw materials, were buried in fresh bat guano for up to two years. The results reported herein demonstrate that in a relatively short time, the highly acidic composition of bat guano strongly affects calcium‐bearing rocks (e.g., limestone, basalt) altering their entire surface. Similar comparisons may be made with chemical alteration evident on archaeological lithics from Azokh Cave, suggesting that bat guano has played a significant role in diagenetic alteration.

show abstract

“…Starch can be recovered from recently excavated artifacts (i.e. Barton et al, 1998;Loy et al, 1992;Duncan et al, 2009), dental calculus (Gagnon et al, 2013;Hardy et al, 2009;Henry and Piperno, 2008;Henry et al, 2011;Li et al, 2010;Mickleburgh and Pagán-Jiménez, 2012;Piperno and Dillehay, 2008), as well as curated archaeological materials (Louderback et al, 2015;Barton, 2007), though contamination is always a risk in residue studies (Pedergnana et al, 2016;Crowther et al, 2014;Laurence et al, 2011).…”

Section: Starch Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Airborne starch dispersal from stone grinding: Experimental results and implications

Dozier

2016

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Modern contaminants affecting microscopic residue analysis on stone tools: A word of caution

Cited by 60 publications

References 42 publications

Exaggerated expectations in ancient starch research and the need for new taphonomic and authenticity criteria

Exaggerated expectations in ancient starch research and the need for new taphonomic and authenticity criteria

Chemical Alteration of Lithic Artefacts: an Experimental Case Study on the effect of Guano on Stone Flakes and Its Contextualization in the Archaeological Assemblage of Azokh Cave (Southern Caucasus)

Airborne starch dispersal from stone grinding: Experimental results and implications

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About