Ancient Starch Research

What role did plant resources have in the evolution of the human species? Why and how have plants been managed and transported to new environments? Where, how, and why were plants domesticated and why do the patterns vary in different parts of the world? What is the relationship between the intensification of food production and the rise of complex societies? Numerous new studies are using starch granules discovered in archaeological contexts to answer these questions and improve our knowledge of past human behavior and environmental variation. Given the substantial body of successful research, the time has clearly come for a comprehensive description of ancient starch research and its potential for archaeologists. This book fills these roles by describing the fundamental principles underlying starch research, guiding researchers through the methodology, reviewing the results of significant case studies, and pointing the way to future avenues for research. The joint product of over two dozen archaeological scientists, Ancient Starch Research aims to bring the important new field of ancient starch analysis to the attention of a wider range of scholars and to provide them with the information needed to embark on their own research.

List of Boxes, Tables, and Figures	p. 9
List of Plates	p. 13
Preface	p. 15
Starch and Archaeology	p. 17
Starch and the Big Questions	p. 18
Historical Background	p. 27
Unique Properties	p. 29
Redressing the Balance	p. 30
A Collaborative Effort	p. 30
Principles, Pathways, and Applications	p. 31
A Bright Future	p. 33
Biology of Starch	p. 35
The Production of Starch	p. 35
Location of Starch Storage	p. 36
Underground Storage Organs	p. 37
Above-ground Stems	p. 38
Flower Heads, Seeds, and Fruits	p. 39
Minor Sources	p. 40
Starch Granule Morphology	p. 40
Granule Types	p. 41
Size and Shape	p. 41
Starch Granule Structure	p. 42
Molecular Building Blocks	p. 42
Granule Microstructure	p. 43
Minor Components	p. 43
Starch Granule Characteristics	p. 43
Birefringence	p. 43
Iodine Staining	p. 44
Gelatinisation	p. 44
X-ray Diffraction Patterns	p. 45
Summary	p. 45
Microscopy	p. 47
Low Magnification	p. 47
High Magnification	p. 48
Transmitted Light	p. 48
Reflected Light	p. 49
Imaging Techniques	p. 49
Staining	p. 49
Darkfield Light	p. 50
Polarised Light and Birefringence	p. 50
Polarisation Cross	p. 50
Phase Contrast	p. 51
Differential Interference Contrast	p. 51
Scanning Electron Microscopes	p. 52
Summary	p. 52
Starch Pathways	p. 53
Defining Pathways	p. 53
Relevant Approaches and Data Sources	p. 54
Ethnobotany, History, and Ethnography	p. 54
Ethnoarchaeology	p. 57
Experimental Studies	p. 57
Biology	p. 57
Multiple Sources of Information	p. 57
Uses for Starchy Plants	p. 61
Starchy Plants as Food	p. 61
Starchy Plants as Material Culture	p. 61
Starchy Plants as Chemicals	p. 61
Potential Pathways	p. 65
From Plant to Soil	p. 65
From Plant to Person to Soil	p. 67
From Plant to Person to Tool to Soil	p. 72
Addressing Research Gaps	p. 73
Diverse Approaches	p. 74
Taphonomy	p. 75
Survival, Form, and Context	p. 75
Starch Preservation	p. 77
Soil Depth and Sediment Compaction	p. 79
Soil Moisture	p. 83
Temperature and pH	p. 83
Protected Settings	p. 83
Protection by Artifacts	p. 84
Particulate Organic Matter	p. 84
Condition of Preserved Starch	p. 85
Physico-chemical Properties	p. 85
Reaction to Chemical Stains	p. 86
Enzymatically Degraded Starch	p. 86
Post-Depositional Movement	p. 88
Artifact Level	p. 88
Single Location	p. 88
Environment at Large	p. 94
Further Research	p. 94
Reference Collections	p. 95
Designing the Reference Collection	p. 95
Archaeological Questions	p. 95
Choice of Taxa	p. 95
Additional Factors	p. 98
Sources of Reference Material	p. 98
Herbaria	p. 98
Seed Banks	p. 98
Established Gardens	p. 102
Markets	p. 102
Field Collections	p. 102
Preparation and Storage	p. 102
Voucher Specimens	p. 107
Preparing Starch Reference Material	p. 108
Estimating Quantity	p. 108
Slide Preparations	p. 108
Preparation of Sections	p. 113
Mounting Media and Refractive Index	p. 113
Database Compilation	p. 113
Conclusions	p. 113
Description, Classification, and Identification	p. 115
Chemical and Physical Tests	p. 119
Research Design	p. 120
Presence/Absence	p. 120
Assemblage Variation	p. 124
Targeting One or More Species	p. 127
Identification of Most Taxa	p. 128
Selection of Optical Attributes	p. 129
Taxonomic Determination	p. 131
Multivariate Approaches	p. 135
Identifying Domestication	p. 136
Conclusions	p. 143
Starch in Sediments	p. 145
Analysis	p. 145
Sampling	p. 145
Extraction	p. 151
Slide Mounting and Viewing	p. 161
Landscape Studies	p. 163
Activity Areas	p. 170
Coprolites	p. 173
Moving Ahead	p. 173
Starch on Artifacts	p. 177
Significant Contributions	p. 177
Tool Function	p. 180
Plant Use	p. 185
Field Techniques	p. 189
Laboratory Techniques	p. 191
Cleaning	p. 195
Selection of Extractions	p. 195
Pipette Extractions	p. 196
Peels	p. 198
Interpretation through Experimentation	p. 199
Experiments Stage 1	p. 200
Experiments Stage 2	p. 201
Experiments Stage 3	p. 201
Life Histories of Tools	p. 202
Where Next?	p. 202
Modified Starch	p. 205
Preserved Forms of Modified Starch	p. 205
Discrete Desiccated Macroremains	p. 206
Attached Desiccated Residues	p. 206
Charred Residues	p. 207
Additional Sites of Preservation	p. 208
Retrieval, Initial Analysis, and Sampling	p. 208
High Power Light Microscopy	p. 210
Scanning Electron Microscopy	p. 212
Case Studies	p. 212
Bread	p. 213
Brewing	p. 215
Future Research	p. 216
Looking Ahead	p. 217
Archaeological Concerns	p. 218
What Is Ancient Starch?	p. 218
Where Can We Find It?	p. 219
Where Else Can We Look?	p. 221
Can We Improve Identifications?	p. 222
Intellectual Pathways	p. 223
References	p. 225
Index	p. 245
List of Contributors	p. 253
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Ancient Starch Research

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Table of Contents

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