Starch grain analysis as a Microscopic Diagnostic Feature in the Identification of Plant Material

Cortella, Alicia Rita; Pochettino, María Lelia

doi:10.1007/bf02908212

Cited by 64 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…2G). Size ranged from 10 to 24 m with a mean of 17.4 m. These features are diagnostic of maize and are consistent with granules derived from hard endosperm varieties of maize (e.g., popcorns, not flour corns) (34).…”

Section: For Contextual Data)supporting

confidence: 67%

Starch grain evidence for the preceramic dispersals of maize and root crops into tropical dry and humid forests of Panama

Dickau

Ranere

Cooke

2007

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

167

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The Central American isthmus was a major dispersal route for plant taxa originally brought under cultivation in the domestication centers of southern Mexico and northern South America. Recently developed methodologies in the archaeological and biological sciences are providing increasing amounts of data regarding the timing and nature of these dispersals and the associated transition to food production in various regions. One of these methodologies, starch grain analysis, recovers identifiable microfossils of economic plants directly off the stone tools used to process them. We report on new starch grain evidence from Panama demonstrating the early spread of three important New World cultigens: maize (Zea mays), manioc (Manihot esculenta), and arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea). Maize starch recovered from stone tools at a site located in the Pacific lowlands of central Panama confirms previous archaeobotanical evidence for the use of maize there by 7800 -7000 cal BP. Starch evidence from preceramic sites in the less seasonal, humid premontane forests of Chiriquí province, western Panama, shows that maize and root crops were present by 7400 -5600 cal BP, several millennia earlier than previously documented. Several local starchy resources, including Zamia and Dioscorea spp., were also used. The data from both regions suggest that crop dispersals took place via diffusion or exchange of plant germplasm rather than movement of human populations practicing agriculture.agricultural origins ͉ crop dispersals ͉ Neotropics ͉ starch grain analysis W ith the advent of molecular studies directed toward understanding the phylogenetics of various economic plants throughout the world, the domestication hearths of several major crop plants have been identified (e.g., refs. 2-5). However, tracing the dispersal of these domesticates, and the economic transition from foraging to food production by the societies that domesticated or adopted them, remains firmly dependent on the recovery of identifiable archaeobotanical remains. The development and application of microbotanical techniques in archaeology has led to major advances in investigating plant use and subsistence in regions where preservation of macrobotanical remains (seeds, fruits, tubers) is poor. In the Americas, phytoliths, pollen, and most recently starch grains, have provided substantial empirical evidence demonstrating the considerable antiquity of food production and crop dispersals in tropical regions once considered peripheral to agricultural origins. Numerous studies now show that people were experimenting with horticulture and moving domesticated plants around tropical forests by 9500-7500 cal BP, ¶ and that food production concentrating on a few particularly productive cultigens was widespread throughout the Neotropics by 5500 cal BP (6-14).The Isthmus of Panama forms a relatively narrow landbridge between North and South America, and was the terrestrial route for the dispersal of numerous domesticates. Not surprisingly, some of the earliest evidence for the spre...

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Section: For Contextual Data)supporting

confidence: 67%

Starch grain evidence for the preceramic dispersals of maize and root crops into tropical dry and humid forests of Panama

Dickau

Ranere

Cooke

2007

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

167

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“…While this is a relatively new subfield in archaeology, starch microscopy has long had a place in food science (Flint 1994) and botany (Cortella and Pochettino 1994). Starch was first observed and identified microscopically in 1719 by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (Thomas and Atwell 1999).…”

Section: Starch Reference Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Starch was first observed and identified microscopically in 1719 by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (Thomas and Atwell 1999). Since then, many researchers have shown that starch granules can be microscopically associated with botanical source material based on distinguishing morphological characteristics, the most important being shape and size (Badenhuizen 1965;Cortella and Pochettino 1994;Czaja 1978;Evers 1979;Moss 1976;Reichert 1913). This section provides an overview of some of the techniques used in the light microscopy of starch.…”

Section: Starch Reference Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeological Data Recovery at Fish Creek Slough Site (41DL436)

Nickels¹

2015

ITA

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The Fish Creek Slough site (41DL436) is a well stratified, multi-component, open campsite situated on an alluvial terrace on the west bank of Fish Creek in Dallas County, Texas. Discovered in 2005, the site contains an abundance of faunal material, charcoal, and burned clay within multiple, discrete stratified zones. The site was evaluated by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) as eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Because the site was within the right-of-way for a planned road and bridge construction project, and as directed by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, TxDOT elected to undertake archaeological data recovery excavations to mitigate adverse effects to the site.In October of 2010, AmaTerra Environmental, Inc. conducted archaeological data recovery excavations at the site under TxDOT contract no. 579-09-SA006. Mechanical stripping was conducted within a 6 x 20-m trench in 3-5-cm cuts down to 200 centimeters below the modern ground surface and exposed 43 burned zones, other features, and artifact concentrations. In addition to 285 cubic meters of soil removed mechanically, an additional 17.75 cubic meters was excavated within 107 hand-dug units. Collected and analyzed items included more than 8,700 faunal specimens, 43 pieces of chipped stone, and 206 fire-cracked rocks. Samples were collected for macrobotanical, magnetic susceptibility, pH, carbon, and malacology, pollen, diatom, phytolith, and ostracod assays and selected specimens of fire-cracked rock were analyzed for the presence of starches and lipids.Thirty-nine radiocarbon dates accepted as valid helped define four discrete occupational components with the earliest occupation probably occurring as early as AD 1025, and the last occupation probably as late as AD 1865. Geoarchaeological analyses show that the stratigraphic sequence accumulated rapidly, separating and preserving the discrete occupations in good context. Analysis of the exceptionally robust and well-preserved faunal assemblage provides evidence for interpretation of change through time in social structure, site spatial occupations, and diet and subsistence. Of special note, within the occupation zones dating to the Protohistoric and Historic periods, metal cut marks on bone suggest an increased reliance on European-introduced technology.

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Section: Reference Collectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing diet and seasonality in the Lower Pecos canyonlands: an evaluation of coprolite specimens as records of individual dietary decisions

Riley

2012

Journal of Archaeological Science

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were not readily available and may be considered a dependable but undesirable meal.The second menu consists of pit-baked lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla) and sotol (Dasylirion sp.) caudices, or hearts, common throughout the cool season. This menu entails high processing costs, but would provide a reliable caloric return. The third menu exhibits a monolithic reliance on prickly pear fruits, or tunas, during the summer.The ease of harvest and consumption is reflected in the seasonal dominance of this resource, which was assuredly a highly desirable meal. The dietary patterns recorded in the coprolite specimens from the Lower Pecos canyonlands demonstrate a seasonally variable diet-breadth that incorporated low-ranked resources during times of seasonal scarcity as well as a monolithic dependence on high-ranked resources when they were available in the local landscape.

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Starch grain analysis as a Microscopic Diagnostic Feature in the Identification of Plant Material

Cited by 64 publications

References 16 publications

Starch grain evidence for the preceramic dispersals of maize and root crops into tropical dry and humid forests of Panama

Starch grain evidence for the preceramic dispersals of maize and root crops into tropical dry and humid forests of Panama

Archaeological Data Recovery at Fish Creek Slough Site (41DL436)

Assessing diet and seasonality in the Lower Pecos canyonlands: an evaluation of coprolite specimens as records of individual dietary decisions

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